Of Smart Girls and Blond Boys
by Northern-Southern Belle
Summary: HPNight World crossover. Mare finds out she's a witch and goes to England to attend Hogwarts. Once there, she finds out she is going to be a spy for the Order. Her main objective? Watch Malfoy! Her dilema? Ash is at Hogwarts too! R&R!
1. You're So Vain

Disclaimer: I do not own _Harry Potter _or_ The Night World _series. They are the original creations of their authors, and therefore, not mine. If they were, I would have done this a whole lot sooner.

It was a bright, sunny morning in August, about two weeks before the beginning of school, and once again, Mary-Lynnette Carter had overslept. She counseled herself to get out of bed and get dressed. As she headed downstairs, she heard something strange, the voice of a young guy talking to her stepmother in their living room. Maybe he was from the FBI, or the police, or something. They were talking about goats, so it was something to do with her next door neighbor Mrs. Burdock, whom Mary-Lynette was sure, had disappeared. She managed to make it to the kitchen without being seen and from there, she could get a good look at the guy without being noticed.

And it was a good look. He was way too young to be police, or FBI, but he _was_ the best looking guy she'd ever seen. Blond and elegant, with slightly tilted eyes. She was too far away to see what color they were. But she wouldn't tell him any of that, should she see him. He didn't look smart at all. He just looked stupid, and she couldn't let herself fall in love with a guy like that. Besides, she had pretty much already decided on Jeremy Lovett. He, like her, was an astronomy buff. The guy in the living room, he probably couldn't even spell astronomy.

Jeremy was smart, sweet, and gentle. And she sort of felt a kinship with him. He lived alone in the woods, had since he was twelve, and his strange uncle had gotten lost searching for gold up in the Klamaths.

Whenever she would bring her old clunker of a station wagon to the gas station where Jeremy worked, she would always be grateful that he never made fun of the cracked glass on her windshield, or the gas cap she had to pry open with a fruit knife.

She suddenly looked up and blinked, bringing herself back to the present. She grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and was about to go upstairs, when the guy, who'd sprawled himself out on her couch, his long, lanky frame making him look like a cat, gave her a wave.

"Hi."

Okay, she thought, he must have seen me in the hall mirror. She was about to continue her way up the stairs when Claudine, her stepmother had to go and say, "Mary-Lynette, come here and talk awhile to Mrs. Burdock's nephew."

She groaned inwardly. She really didn't want to do that. To postpone it, she decided to go into the kitchen and get herself a Coke. When she came out, both her stepmother, and the guy, Mrs. Burdock's nephew, were waiting for her.

"Mary-Lynnette, this is Mrs. Burdock's nephew Ash."

She mumbled a hello that, with its lack of enthusiasm really would have offended the average person, but not him. She doubted that he even cared.

When she put out her hand, still wet from the soda can, to meet his, she didn't know what to expect. For some reason, she couldn't look at him, couldn't meet his eyes. Or maybe she just didn't want to. So she decided to look at the floor instead, which gave her a good view of his fashionably ratty tennis shoes. Despite herself, she let her eyes travel upward, giving her a view of old, comfy, washed out jeans, torn at the knees, and his t-shirt, white with nothing but a solitary black iris.

That's a strange thing to put on a shirt, she thought. Then she shrugged it off. A lot of rock groups had strange emblems, and that's just what this was, a t-shirt with the logo of some rock group on it. Nothing unusual.

Then they touched, but it wasn't just touching it was more like a jolt. The room began to turn slightly pink and spin around just a bit. The feeling made her nauseous, and dizzy, and she didn't like it one bit. Apparently, neither did the Cat. When they separated, he had a look on his face like he had just done something bad, and someone sprayed him with a spray bottle.

Ticked off and angry.

Claudine quickly changed the subject.

"Mare, Ash is the brother of the girls who just moved into Mrs. Burdock's house."

"Really? She never talked about him." Mare talked over her shoulder to Claudine, pointedly ignoring Ash.

"Wait a minute," she shook her head now, looking at Ash squarely, "yes she did. She said you were a naughty little boy and would probably grow up to be a criminal or a murderer or something."

He grinned slyly at this, like it was something familiar he had been expecting and was proud of.

"She was right about that", he admitted. "I am bad."

"And you're the brother of the girls who moved in next door?"

"Yes, do you know them?"

"We've met."

"Do you have any other brothers or sisters?"

"Why would you care?"

"We're an old-fashioned family, and my father likes me to keep track of their friends because I'm the only boy."

Claudine said, "Mark's her younger brother, but that's all."

Ash nodded. "Okay."

Mare didn't feel up to playing verbal volleyball anymore. Her brain was already filling up with evil things to do to him. She narrowed her eyes.

"So", she said, "you're an old-fashioned family, huh"?

"Yes," he said sounding, to her satisfaction, somewhat uneasy.

"And you think that you can pick your sisters' friends."

"Yes." He said coldly and defiantly.

She kicked him. Hard. Ignoring the pink haze when contact occurred.

"I think you should leave now," she said, her voice sugary sweet.

He muttered some more, but she couldn't hear what he was saying.

She kicked him again. He gasped in pain and hobbled out the door.

Mary-Lynette sighed. She _did_ miss Ash. She missed him a lot. But every time she thought about their first meeting, it made her laugh at how they both acted like a couple of little kids, each wanting their own way. She had been so lost in thought, she hadn't heard Mark come in with the mail.

"Letter for you," he said, dropping a cream-colored envelope in front of her. She studied it, curious as to where it might have come from. It had an official looking seal on it. Most curiously, it didn't even seem to have come from anywhere in America. She studied the seal more closely. It read:

**Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry.**

A/N- a new story! I've got lots of ideas for this HP/Night World crossover.

Once again, reviews welcome and appreciated.

-Jocelyn


	2. An Unfortunate Decision

Disclaimer: See first chapter

A/N- Dogs die in hot cars, my only reviewer, this is for you! (And just so you know, there is a part two of this story that will be with Hermione and Ash.)

Mare stared dumbly at the envelope she held that was now threatening to fall out of her hand. She couldn't believe it. A witch? Her, a witch? It didn't make any sense. She did know what she had to do though. Tell Ash. She wondered what he was going to have to say about this. _He'll probably think I'm more deranged and dangerous now._ She giggled to herself, and grabbed her car keys. She'd call Ash, but first, she'd have to find out his number.

"You're a WHAT?! Mark asked.

"I'm a witch, Mark, or at least that's what these people from this place seem to think."

Mare and Mark were in the car on the way to Burdock Farm. The letter was nestled safely in Mare's purse. She had decided to tell Mark first. It would give her practice for when she had to tell everybody else. They pulled up into the driveway of a house that looked like it had been blown to Oz and back. Mare got out of the car (a used Corvette she'd gotten for her birthday), let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding, and started up the driveway.

She knocked on the door, and it opened to reveal a girl with eyes like a hawk, and hair like old gold. Kestrel.

"What's the matter?" the girl asked. "Do you need another therapy session?"

Ever since Ash had left, Mare had suffered from small bouts of depression. Kestrel, being the most impulsive and outgoing of the sisters, had offered to become her therapist. In other words, sneaking her out for ice cream and joyrides when she had a bad day. Or when she was supposed to be studying.

It was helping a lot.

"No, not right now. Are the other girls home? I have something I need to show you guys. It's kind of weird."

"Yeah, they're home. What is it?"

"You'll see."

Mare walked in the door, then turned down a hallway into a living room where two other girls were sharing a couch. The one with brown hair got up gracefully and walked over to her and the two girls embraced. Mark took the empty seat on the couch next to a girl with white-blonde hair. Rowan and Jade.

Mare released Rowan, and sat down on a rocking chair, while Rowan replaced herself on an ottoman.

"What's wrong?" Rowan asked, looking concerned, a look that fit her very well.

Mare took another breathe, grabbed her purse, and took out the letter from Hogwarts.

"I got this in the mail today," she said, passing it to Rowan, who in turn passed it to the other girls. "I was wondering if you knew about this place because of the Night World and everything. They think I'm a witch, incidentally."

Jade, who was holding the envelope, dropped it and gasped.

"What! You can't be a witch! We would have sensed it. There has to be something wrong here."

"I know." Mare agreed, "But true or not, I think I should tell Ash. Does he have a cell phone number or something, so I can tell him?

Rowan nodded. "Yes, come in the kitchen."

Mare followed her into the kitchen where Rowan handed her the phone, and gave her a number to call. She punched it in, and the phone began ringing.

Ash was depressed. Being here at the mansion was okay, and working for circle daybreak was fine, after all, he was doing what Mary-Lynnette wanted him to do, but he missed her terribly, and no one around here was any help. Every time he turned around, there was another soulmate couple, happy and together. It got worse every day. He sure wouldn't tell anyone that he cried himself to sleep every night, but he did. He soaked his pillows until they needed to be wrung out. Today had been especially bad. Everyone had taken the day off from meetings to celebrate the Autumn Equinox. That meant all people did was be with each other. He couldn't be with anyone, at least not in that way.

And then, to top off his misery, Quinn had been soulmated to a vampire hunter named Rashel who was here with him. Ash never thought that there would ever be a day where Quinn would have better luck then him with girls, but it was happening now, and it was just killing him.

At the height of his depression, as he thought about this, his cell phone rang. He wondered who could be calling him. Not many people had his new number.

"Hello?"

"Ash?" it was Mary-Lynette! His heart sped up, and he nearly screamed like a girl and dropped the phone from happiness.

"Ash, could you come to the girls' house and pick me up? There's something I need to ask you. And tell you."

Despite the fact that his heart was beating so fast, he managed to keep his cool.

"Are you saying you want me to cheat on our little deal?" he asked slyly, a little too slyly apparently.

"Ash, I'm serious! This is important!" the voice on the other end was stern and sharp.

He cleared his throat. "All right, I'll be there soon."

"Bye Ash, see you soon, and thank you."

"Bye sweetheart."

Ash hung up, snapped the phone shut, and put it back in his jacket pocket. With a new determination and spring in his step, he strode into Thierry's office to tell him he'd be gone a while.

"Okay, I'll give Quinn all your missions while you're gone, except before you go, just tell me one thing. Is Mary-Lynette's last name Carter?"

Ash turned around. "Yes, why?"

"Because I just got a letter from Albus today, and he told me that they'd just admitted a girl named Mary-Lynnette to Hogwarts and that she would be very instrumental in helping the light side win the war over Lord Voldemort."

Ash's jaw dropped. Mary-Lynnette? His Mary-Lynnette? A witch? How was that possible?

Maybe that's what she wants to tell me, he thought, maybe she knows more!

Mare breathed a sigh of relief as she hung up the phone, and stared at Rowan who was standing by the stove.

"Is he coming?" she asked.

"Of course he's coming!" she said incredulously. "Why wouldn't he come? He's my soulmate for god's sake, and besides", she dropped her voice to a whisper. "Bsides, if he didn't come, I'd kick him so hard, he'd be limping for a week."

Rowan snorted loudly at this, a very unusual thing for her to do.

All of a sudden, there was a knock at the door of the old farm house, and something told Mare it wasn't Ash.

Ash drove quickly through the Nevada streets, not caring how many speed limits he was breaking. All he cared about was that Mare needed him. After a few hours of driving, he recognized the small town of Briar Creek, Oregon. He drove even quicker over to the girls' house, grateful that there was not really any such thing as a speed limit in this town. But when he arrived, he didn't see any sign of the girls, Mare, or even Mare's brother Mark. But he did see a group of guys in capes around the front part of the house. Looks like someone else got here first.

A/N- Cliffie! I'm so sorryï! I'll write again soon! ï

Jocelyn


	3. Secret Agent Woman

Disclaimer- See first chapter

Calisia girl- Sorry about the lack of detail. In reality, I'm a detail freak. I wanted there to be sort of an air of suspense, so if I put in too many details, it might've given stuff away. Plus, even I didn't know who the guys in capes would be at that point. Thanks for your review and here's chapter three.

Hope you like this!

Mare stood up, and slowly walked over and placed an apprehensive hand on the doorknob. She couldn't describe what she was feeling right now. She wasn't scared exactly, but she could tell things weren't exactly right with the world. Rowan, who was still standing by the refrigerator, followed her to the door.

"How about I get it?" she asked, "you know, just in case it's someone dangerous?"

Mare nodded. She could fight if she needed to, but just now, she didn't feel quite up to it, seeing as they didn't exactly know who was outside. Jade and Kestrel came in from the living room with Mark trailing behind them.

"Who's that?" Jade asked. In her arms she now held a black kitten. Tiggy.

"That's the thing. We don't know who it is," Rowan told her. Kestrel just grinned. "Why are we acting so apprehensive? It's probably just Ash here to cheat on the deal, and pay us all a visit."

From her seat at the kitchen table, Mare shook her head.

"It's not Ash," she said tiredly. "I would know if it was him. Besides, he doesn't knock, remember? He just barges in like he owns the place."

"Oh, right," Kestrel agreed, remembering the first time she found out her brother and Mare were soulmates. They'd hated each other then, and when Ash had just barged in here uninvited, Mare had given him a piece of her mind. Kestrel laughed to herself. It had been kind of funny seeing the mighty Ash Redfern getting the crap beat out of him by a human girl. Or a witch.

The door sounded again, interrupting all of them from their thoughts. Rowan put her hand on the doorknob, and turned it.

On the other side were three people, all dressed in capes. Kestrel could tell they were magical from the way they dressed. The first one was a young woman a few years older then herself, sporting spiky pink hair, torn jeans, a shirt that said_ The Weird Sisters_, and a silver chain necklace from what Kes could see under her robes. The second person was a really creepy looking old guy. He had long silver hair, and it looked as if he'd had a chunk taken out of his nose at one point in time. But what startled Kestrel as she looked at him, were his eyes. One was normal, but the other was a startling electric blue and it seemed to swivel back and forth as he surveyed the room. The last guy was in his late thirties or so, and had brown hair streaked with gray despite his young age. He looked wary and tired. (A/n-recent full moon). He also surveyed the kitchen, but his eyes were normal. Kestrel felt slightly uneasy about this guy. His robes were kind of tattered, and shabby, and patched in several places.

Kestrel looked over at Mare to see what she thought of the new visitors. She looked curious, but not shocked or scared. Well, she mused, I guess when you find out that your next door neighbors suck blood and that the guy you thought was your best friend and the kind of guy you wanted to date was really a crazy killer psycho werewolf, it's kind of hard to be shocked by anything else.

The old guy cleared his throat, and said in a scratchy, hoarse sounding voice that he was Alastor Moody, and the two people with him were Nymphadora Tonks and Remus Lupin.

"Unity," Kestrel said. This was how all the witches in the Night World greeted each other.

The three people looked at her strangely, but didn't say anything. They took seats at the kitchen table.

Moody cleared his throat again, and began to explain why the three of them were in Briar Creek.

"We're looking for a girl named Mary-Lynette Carter. Does she live around here?"

Mare finally looked startled. "I'm Mary-Lynnette," she said nervously. "What do you need me for?"

The guy called Lupin spoke. "In our world, the world of witches and wizards," he said, speaking slowly and quietly, "There is a very dark wizard about. He is so feared among our people that most wizards fear to speak his name. He's killed many of us, except for one boy named Harry Potter who survived the killing curse and is destined to defeat him."

He paused after he told them about this powerful boy. The room was silent. Mare could hear the crickets outside the kitchen window. She wondered why he had stopped in his telling of the story. Also, if they had this Harry Potter kid, and he was so powerful, what the heck did they need her for? She was just a future astronomy major who lived in a hick town in the middle of nowhere. There was nothing special about her. Okay, so maybe her boyfriend and next door neighbors were vampires, but she was used to that now. It wasn't weird to her at all anymore.

Lupin was continuing. "Miss Carter, did you recently receive a letter from a place called Hogwarts?"

Mare nodded. "They seem to think that I'm a witch, but I promise you that's not true. You can ask them," she added, pointing to Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade.

"They're vampires. They can sense stuff like that, so don't you think they would know if I was a witch?"

Moody nodded. "Yes, they would be able to tell something like that. But you aren't an actual witch. You're a psychic. That coupled with your knowledge of the stars, and if I'm not mistaken, your ability to manipulate, would make you the perfect spy."

"What! Me, a spy? How would I do it?"

"Well, we'd have to plant you in Hogwarts and have you act as a student. That way, you could hear everything twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week."

"But I don't know anything about magic!"

"That's already been arranged. If you would come with us, I would like to get you started as soon as possible."

Ash clutched tight at the steering wheel. He'd been sitting in this spot for the last three hours, watching the people in capes. Most of them were guys, he thought. When three of them were admitted into the house, it was all he could do not to break the steering wheel, the door, or make some sort of noise to give himself away. This whole operation the people had set up must be something shady, after all, why else would they be here at night. No one had come out yet, but just as he was about to give up, the three people that had gone in to the house came back out again. This time, they had another girl with them. It was Mare. He was about to pull out from his hiding place to follow the trio, but then his cell phone rang. Annoyed, he picked it up.

"Talk to me."

"Ash, its Thierry. When you get to Mary-Lynnette's house, if you see a bunch of men in capes, don't get too freaked out, it's just agents from the order of the phoenix. That was what was in the letter Albus wrote me. They aren't going to hurt her or anything. They're good people, and they'll make sure she doesn't get hurt either."

"Why do they need her?"

"Like I told you before Ash, Mare is a very instrumental tool in helping the light side defeat the Dark Lord. What the agents are doing now is taking her to England, so she can help Harry Potter.

"Um, how will she do that?"

"She's a psychic Ash. And, much like you, she is very good at manipulating people."

"Really? That's news to me. Wait a minute. Did you just say she's going to spend an entire year at Hogwarts?

"Yes."

"In England?"

"Yes."

"Without me?"

"Yes, without you."

"Why the hell did you agree to this?! "Ash hollered angrily into the phone.

"You didn't even consult with me! This could kill her Thierry. And unlike Hannah, Mare's not an old soul, so you just better hope she comes out of this final battle thing alive, or you'll be sorry!"

Ash was so mad he slammed down the phone hard enough to break it, and then sped up his car as much as it could go. He didn't know what he was going to do now; he just knew that he better get out of the Mansion quick. Maybe, just this once, he'd let himself fall back on his old bad habits. Maybe then, if she died, it wouldn't hurt at all because he wouldn't care about other people, only himself. With that in mind, he changed courses, and began the daylong drive to the Black Iris.

A/N- There's chapter three! Sorry if it's a tad bit psycho. It was the only way I could think of to get Mare to Hogwarts at age 17. Anyway, R&R!!

-Jocelyn


	4. A Blessing in Disguise

Disclaimer- see first chapter

Silver-tigress71- Thank you. This is one of my favorite stories.

Now, on to chapter four.

He had spent the whole day driving here, enveloped in his own misery. Now that he was actually at the club, he would have to put on a different sort of face. His I-don't-give-a-damn face he hadn't put on since he'd met Mare and joined the Circle. But it hadn't been that long, so he was sure he hadn't forgotten anything.

Ash slowly got out of his car, and carefully shut the door. He was parked in front of a shabby, worn down brick building in one of the more unsavory Vegas side streets. Here in the alleyway, there were few street lamps to expose beggars, tramps, and thieves going about their illicit affairs. It was a dim, dark and musty place, where rats fought with each other for little crusts of bread dropped on the sidewalk.

Not the kind of place he normally liked to be, but desperate times called for desperate measures. He walked up to a side of the building where a burnt out neon sign said "Andrew's Palace Hotel, rooms, $20". He proceeded to knock on the door, and wait for someone to come let him in. He put his hands in his pockets to protect them from the cold draft that was swirling crackling leaves around his tennis shoes. He had just begun to whistle "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" through his teeth when a skinny kid with yellow eyes opened up the door a crack. Ash rolled his eyes heavenward.

"Luke, it's me. Now for God's sake let me in!" Jeez, he thought to himself, I wonder how Jeremy Lovett was as tricky as he was when every other member of his species can't even spell their own name?

The door opened just enough to let him in, and then closed with a resounding click behind him. The room Ash entered wasn't any brighter then the dim outdoors he had just left. It was smoky, and filled with people from end to end. Some were sitting at tables chatting with one another, but most were on the dance floor. The DJ was playing "Hey Jealousy" by the Gin Blossoms. Ash pushed his way through a few dancing couples and found himself an empty table. As he sat down, the whole club went quiet. Ash looked up and saw dozens of people staring at him, mostly extremely beautiful girls. He awarded those stares with his most charming cat-grin, and then a few of the girls broke away from their dance partners to come and join him.

Pretty soon, there wasn't anymore room left at the table, and one of the girls had taken a seat in Ash's lap. They were all full of questions, wondering where he'd been all this time and such.

He just laughed, and told them about his sisters. He told them about Mare too, calling her an easily manipulated, intellectual vermin psycho. Although it was a knife in his heart to talk of her in such a way, he ignored the pain, reminding himself that there would be more if he thought about Mare constantly, and then she died.

Thankfully at that point, one of the girls asked him to have a dance with her. He consented and let her tow him to the dance floor; letting thoughts of nothing go through his mind.

Mare was feeling extremely uneasy right now. She had tried reminding herself repeatedly that this Lupin guy was a good driver and that there was no way whatsoever that he would let her fall off the broom.

She didn't know how long it had been since she and her three companions had left Oregon. But what she did know was that this broom was going very high and that the longer she had to stay in the air, the more nervous she was. And the fact that Moody had tried to make them travel via Greenland three times already didn't inspire any votes of confidence either, but at least she wasn't driving with him.

"Hey Remus," she asked him, "How long will it be until we get wherever it is we're supposed to be going?"

"Five minutes," he told her. "Then you can meet the others."

She sighed, feeling a little bit better now that she knew she didn't have to be on the broom and in the air much longer, and let herself wonder just how many others there where, and what they would be like.

Ash had been dancing for quite awhile now. He didn't want to stop, because lack of activity turned his brain back on, and he really didn't want to think about anything just now.

After a short break to change partners, there was another round of dancing. Ash was careful not to dance with Amber again. She was a girl from a very prominent lamia family, and her father and Ash's did business together. The two of them had gone to one of the back rooms during one of the slow dances, and apparently his thoughts were still full of Mare, because when they came out, Amber had seemed upset. She had yelled at him for a long time, hitting the wall over and over again and saying she hoped Ash would be happy with his "vermin whore", because he certainly wouldn't get any from her anymore.

Now she was on the phone. Ash didn't particularly care about who she was talking to, he was just extremely glad that it was over. She got off the phone, and put it back in her purse.

Next it was time for the poetry readings. Ash didn't like poetry very much, so he just stared straight ahead, his brain empty of thought.

About halfway through the readings, two more people entered the club. The man was tall, with blond hair and green, tilted eyes. His female companion was tall and graceful, with dark brown hair, and cinnamon brown eyes.

Ash felt something stir at the back of his mind, and turned his head toward the door. When he saw the two people, his eyes widened fearfully. They were his parents. He looked at Amber. She had a malicious grin on her face. She had called his parents? Why?

He strode over towards them. "Hey Mom, Dad, what's the matter?" His mother, who not only looked like Rowan, but had her gentle disposition as well, bit her lip and stared at him with troubled eyes.

"We got a call from Amber a while ago, and she says you've apparently become affectionate towards a human girl."

Ash stopped breathing.

"And I'm sorry Ash, but this is the last straw. You know we've got to keep up appearances, so we think that you need a year away from human contact. Yesterday, I talked with Grandma Harman, and she recommended a nice sorcery school in England, which you will be going to this year."

Sorcery school in England? There couldn't be very many of those. Maybe he'd get to be with Mare! Ash began to breathe again.

"It's called Hogwarts."

It was all Ash could do not to send any jubilant thoughts through his aura where either of his parents could sense them.

His mother looked at him. "What are you so happy about?'

He cleared his throat. "Nothing, I've just heard good things about it from Thea and Blaise."

After his parents had left the club he headed out, and went back to the mansion to pack for Mare, and Hogwarts.


	5. Mission: Ironic

See first chapter for disclaimer.

Dogs die in hot cars: That's okay. I sort of have a scene where Ash and Malfoy fight over Mare, but that's a couple of chapters away. Thanks for the review!

Decoruslamia- Interesting name, thanks so much for the review. I definitely intend to keep on writing!

A/n- Okay, I know it's been awhile since I've updated, and now I'm hungry for praise, so here's chapter five.

Mare breathed a sigh of relief. They were finally landing after what seemed like five million years. She didn't exactly know where she was, although she knew they were somewhere in England.

The world around her was dark, and all her companions whispered among themselves, like there was some big secret they held.

She began to pace around, her tennis shoes clicking on the cobblestone street. After about ten minutes, Remus touched her shoulder, put his finger to his lips, and nodded towards the door of an old, stately house. She squinted in the dark, and read the address: Number 12, Grimmauld Place.

Moody's back was turned away from her, and all three of her companions marched into the house quietly, gesturing for her to follow.

The house was dark. How anyone could see in such horrible lighting Mare didn't know.

She also didn't know why they all were being so quiet. It was enough like a grave in this

dark, and dreary place without the silence. She was thinking about this instead of watching where she was going.

Then out of nowhere, a chair appeared, just like that. Although she wasn't usually clumsy, the chair caught her off guard. Both Mare and the chair fell to the floor with big crashing noises. Mare's head hit the floor with a crack, and swirling black dots danced in front of her vision.

After this, someone, (she thought it was Tonks), whispered "Lumos," and a beam of light filled the room.

After she came to, she saw Remus standing over her with a concerned expression on his face. She sat up, groaned, and rubbed at the large goose egg that had sprouted on the back of her head. She was vaguely aware of some distant, angry yelling, although she couldn't make out what was being said.

Remus turned and addressed the other two. "I'm going to go help Sirius shut up the old hag." he strode quickly from the room. Mare had no idea what that meant, but as Tonks and Moody grabbed her arms and pulled her to her feet, they began to explain what she would be doing in her role as a spy, and the yelling was quickly wiped from her mind. As they talked, Mare became aware of a hunger in her stomach. She hadn't eaten since breakfast, and that had been ages ago. She mentioned this, and was led to the kitchen.

As the crew entered the kitchen, Mare was surprised to see a large number of people already gathered at the kitchen table. There was also food, and lots of it. Mare's mouth began to water. She sat down in an empty seat, and as she did so, became aware that everyone at the table was staring at her.

A smiling, plump, pleasant-faced woman with red hair gave her some food, which she took with unfeigned enthusiasm, although she had no idea what it was.

After Moody took his seat at the table, everyone became silent.

"Everyone, this is Mary-Lynnette Carter, The girl who will be our spy for the next year." He patted her on the shoulder, in what she supposed was a paternal gesture.

"And guys," said Lupin, speaking in the direction of a red-haired boy, a dark-haired, green-eyed boy, and a bushy-haired girl with big front teeth. "she will be going to Hogwarts this year, so show her the ropes, all right?" the three nodded their consent.

"Now," grated Moody, once again addressing Mare, "I suppose I should tell you who these three are." He gestured at the trio. "The red-head is Ron Weasly." Ron nodded, grinning widely at her. "Next to him is Hermione Granger." The girl grinned. Mare liked her. They would probably be good friends. "And finally," Lupin said, taking the reins from Moody, "This is Harry Potter," he said with a flourish. The dark-haired boy blushed, and inclined his head in an almost imperceptible bow. Mare grinned back at him.

She nodded to herself. They seemed like cool people; she could work with them.

"And now for your assignment," Moody said, making her jump back to reality.

"There is a wizarding family, the Malfoys, who are known followers of the Dark Lord, but through deceit and trickery they have become one of the most powerful families in the wizarding community. Their son Draco-"

"One of the most loathsome and disgusting people to ever walk on this earth," Hermione broke in vehemently. "The only person he cares about is himself; he thinks all muggle-born witches and wizards have dirty blood, and would probably wipe out every last one if given the opportunity."

Mare gasped inwardly, her heart giving a sudden wretch. This Draco Malfoy sounded a lot like Ash had when his sisters had described him to her that first time.

_Flashback-"It could be our brother," Rowan said, looking meditative. "He's the only one who could possibly know we're here. He found me giving the letter to Crane Linden to smuggle off the island." She paused. "But I don't think he noticed Aunt Opal's address on it. He's not very good at noticing things that aren't about him."_

_At this, Jade had chimed in. "Yeah. All Ash thinks about is Ash. He's completely self-centered. And he hates humans. He would probably wipe them all out if given the opportunity. There's only one thing he wants when he goes after human girls. Besides their cars, I mean."_

This was going to be an interesting mission.

When she looked up from her lap, she saw everyone staring at her, and realized she had tears in her eyes.

"What's the matter Mary-Lynnette?," Lupin asked.

"Oh, nothing, he just sounds like my boyfriend back home before we started going out, and didn't like each other very much. See, He's a vampire. And he used to have this big anti-human thing going on. Heck, the first name he ever called me was "vermin." But then we found out we were stuck with each other for life, and I kicked his butt to whip him into shape. He's on a little "self-discovery" mission right now while I finish up school. I heard he even joined a pro-human group just for me. His name is Ash Redfern."

She stopped to breathe. She knew she'd been rambling.

Everyone continued to stare.

"Well then, I guess you'll have no trouble tailing Malfoy, then?" Moody asked.

"Nope." Mare shook her head, and sealed her fate.

Ash hurried around his bedroom in a pell-mell sort of way, throwing various articles of clothing into suitcases. For the last six hours, all he had thought about was Mare. If Amber was still speaking to him, he would've called her and thanked her for tattling on him to his parents. This was the best punishment ever!

He grabbed two shirts and two pairs of jeans out of the closet and held them up to the mirror for his own inspection. He shook his head, and threw the black pair, and a red polo on the floor. That left him with his stone-washed blue jeans and a black muscle shirt. Perfect. Mare wouldn't know what hit her. Neither would Hogwarts.

Review, please!

-Christy


	6. Enter: Marie Cartier

Disclaimer- Y'all know where to look.

Mare went to bed that evening feeling very contented. She'd eaten more that day then she'd ever eaten. But something lingered in the back of her mind. Would the fact that this Malfoy kid had lots of similarities to Ash bring on any repercussions? Would she lie in bed at night sobbing for Kestrel? Oh, well. She'd already said yes, and Kestrel and the other girls were three thousand miles away. She'd just have to deal, that was all. Closing her eyes, she let herself dream of Ash.

She woke up early the next morning. Upon leaving her room, she spotted Hermione, who also was up early. The two girls walked down to breakfast together, talking along the way.

"So," Hermione asked, "was everything you said about your boyfriend yesterday true? The stuff about him being a muggle-hating, self-absorbed git, I mean."

Mare had to laugh at that. "Yes, it's true, every single word of it. I love him though. His sisters are my family's next door neighbors, and my younger brother is dating his youngest sister. I guess you could say that in my family, dating vampires is sort of a family affair."

When they arrived at the breakfast table, they found that Moody and Tonks were already there.

"Miss Carter, today we are going to further educate you on what your assignment will consist of. Now we're on to specific details." Moody peered at her, his glass eye spinning wildly around.

"First of all, do you speak French, Miss Carter?

"Yes sir, why?"

"In wizarding Europe, there are three schools of magic. The one in France, called Beauxbatons, is where you are supposedly transferring from."

"Oh."

"Now, pick a French name for yourself, one that will easy for you to remember.

Mare thought for a little bit. "Okay, how about Marie Cartier?"

Moody grinned. It was slightly creepy. "Excellent. I will inform everyone else. Remember, this is who you are from now on Miss Carter, or should I say Mademoiselle Cartier."

Marie nodded, and grinned. (A/n-from now on, everyone except Ash is going to refer to Mare as Marie.)

Just then, Ron and Harry, stretching and yawning, came trooping down the stairs.

"Mornin' Mare," they said.

Hermione cleared her throat. "Don't you mean 'Good morning Marie?'

The boys stared. "What," asked Ron, sounding dazed.

"_Marie_. That's the name she's going to use when she spies on Malfoy. She's an exchange student from Beauxbatons."

The boys nodded, grabbed knives, and began to paint their toast with butter and marmalade.

Ash stared out his car window. He felt tired. He hadn't fed much yesterday, and now he was paying for it. During his time at Hogwarts, when he wasn't at school, he would be staying at the home of one of his father's friends, a Mr. Malfoy. The Malfoy's young son Draco was not the kind of guy Ash wanted to be spending any time with at all, in fact, the whole family was rotten apples. When his parents punished, they really knew how to punish. Ash had been to the manor for his father's business dinners a few times.( Not that any of his family actually ate, it was more a conversational thing.) But the last time had been years ago.

Now, he gazed out at the things that would surround him on breaks for the next year. His mother had promised him that she and his father would visit at Christmas, and maybe bring his sisters with them.(They had excepted Ash's jurisdiction to let the girls stay in Oregon.) Ash hoped they would.

He saw an eager blonde woman coming toward him. Mrs. Malfoy, I presume, he thought. He plastered a fake grin on his face as she came to greet him.

"You must be Ash. Hawk's told us so much about you." Hawk was Ash's father.

She led him into a very large entryway. Ash couldn't really be surprised, because the fancy furnishing weren't unlike what he had at home.

"And here's Draco." She nodded towards a foppish-looking blond boy slightly shorter then himself.

Ash didn't like him. He had heard that the guy needed to have minions at school to make himself seem threatening. Mare could probably reduce him and his hulks to pixie dust in seconds with her bare hands. That would be funny to see. (a/n- Ash's knowledge of wand magic is practically none existant since all the witches he knows are wandless.)

Ash walked over and met Draco at the entranceway. They both stared at each other. If Ash could have looked at himself in the mirror just then, he would have seen gray eyes. And if Mrs. Malfoy would have looked in on them from the parlor where she was, she would have thought she had twins!

The boys put out their hands and shook once, firmly, then let their hands drop to their sides, each rubbing his hip furiously, as if the other had cooties.

This was going to be a long year.

After a few more days, Marie was surprised it was time to head to Hogwarts. She, Ron, Harry, and Hermione all boarded the school train together, sharing a compartment. Ron had warned her that she most definitely would get a good look at her charge, as he normally stopped by the compartment to taunt them. And he did. But when he looked at Marie, his face held a different sort of expression, a kind of expression that turned her back into Mare and made her wish for her soulmate.

When they got to school, they disembarked from the train, then shared a carriage. As they walked into the castle, they were separated, as Marie still had to be sorted. When she entered the Great Hall, she was all prepared to put on the Sorting Hat. After it placed her in Gryffindor, and all her friends cheered, she went to sit at her house table. Then the next boy stepped up to the stool to be sorted. When Marie saw him, she clutched at Hermione's arm in an effort not to pass out.

"Marie, what's the matter?" Hermione whispered.

"Well, you know the boyfriend I was telling you about? The formerly Malfoy-ish one who was supposed to be on a voyage of self-discovery? Well, that's him." With a shaking hand, she gestured up at the front of the room.

Mouseeee- I love getting new reviewers, so thanks! (Smiles real big.)

Ash and Malfoy's meeting was kind of a letdown, I know, but there'll be excitement later, I promise!


	7. Meet the Parents

Disclaimer- none of the characters are mine. Kay kay, peeps?!

Mouseeee- here's all of what you want rolled into one package, Ash and Mare's meeting, and...the excitement! Hope you like it.

Hermione looked where Marie was pointing. The boy certainly did look Malfoy-ish. He stood next to the stool looking curious for a little while, but finally got the sense to put the hat on. The boy was sorted in to Slytherin. Marie collapsed with relief next to Hermione.

"I don't know what you're so happy about," Hermione whispered. "There isn't a witch or wizard in that house that's good, besides, you're not home free yet, you'll still have to have classes with him."

Marie groaned. "Really? How the heck am I supposed to watch Malfoy if he and Ash are in the same room? This mission is going to hell in a hand basket."

Now that the Sorting was over, Professor Dumbledore stood up to make his usual start of term speech. Except this year, something different then usual was happening at Hogwarts, to the delight of the Gryffindors.

"...And further more, each house has a partner with whom they will be having classes all year. Gryffindor has matching timetables with Hufflepuff, and Slytherin and Ravenclaw likewise. I'm sure you all know this year's new Defense against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Lupin!" the applause for Remus was thunderous, and then, "That's all. Tuck in!"

What happened next almost made Marie's jaw drop in amazement. The plates filled themselves automatically! It was like the food came from nowhere! Now that her shock of seeing Ash at Hogwarts was dwindling, Marie found herself staring at her timetable. She was relieved she didn't have to have classes with Ash. That would make her job so much easier. But the bad part about it was, no classes with Ash meant no classes with Malfoy. How would she watch him? She stared down at her timetable. They had astronomy here? How cool was that? At least she knew that she could handle one subject without any trouble.

Her first day of classes went by without much trouble. By lunch time though, she was ready for a break. She, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked scanned their schedules while eating to see what was in store for them that afternoon.

"Oy, potions," muttered Ron grumpily through a mouthful of Yorkshire pudding, "is it that time already?"

"What's wrong with Potions?" Marie asked, forgetting about her French accent.

"It's taught by Professor Snape. He has it in for Gryffindor."

"Yes, but look on the bright side Ron, at least now we don't have to worry about Malfoy splitting a seam every time something bad happens." Hermione broke in cheerfully.

After lunch, they gathered their bags, and headed down to the dungeons. Professor Snape arrived a few minutes after the students, and gruffly ordered them to get to work on a shrinking potion, and threatened horrible things if it didn't go well.

After the lesson, the Gryffindor had a break, so the four friends separated. Harry, Ron, and Hermione went back to the dormitory after showing Marie the way to the library.

Marie walked in slowly, her eyes trying to take in all the details at once. Finally, she found a desk to sit and read at. Hermione had recommended some books to her. She thought she would start out with _Hogwarts: a History_. She found the book among the numerous shelves and sat down. She was deeply into it when she thought she heard a rustle to her left. She looked up, and there, to her surprise, was Malfoy. When he saw her looking at him, he gave her a surprisingly sheepish grin.

"Like that?" he asked her, his voice lacking its usual bored drawl. "I'm Draco Malfoy, but I bet you already knew that didn't you?" he was beginning to sound a little too cocky for her liking, but Marie managed to keep her cool. Now she had to make a decision. Who was Marie Cartier? Was she smart, flirty, slutty, bold? Who was she? I should probably be the kind of person Ash wouldn't know me to be, she thought, bold, and flirty that's me.

She grinned cattily at him. "Yes, I 'ave 'eard of you. I 'eard it was your custom to ask ze new girl out on a date."

A look of surprise flickered in his eyes. She winked at him, waiting. He grinned. "I guess you're the new girl, so that would be right. You do know that we're allowed to go to Hogsmeade on the weekends, don't you?" Marie didn't, and luckily, she could ask him what that was.

"It's the only all-wizard village in Britain. They've got the best candy store in the whole world." As he told Marie about the joys of Honeydukes, he lost his cocky manner. After awhile, they parted with plans to meet the first Hogsmeade weekend.

When Marie got to the dormitories that night, she was eager to share her news.

"I know how to watch Malfoy!" she crowed gleefully.

Her three friends stared at her. "How?" Hermione asked curiously.

"Well, I know it will cost me my integrity, and possibly my friendships, but we have a date for the first weekend of Hogsmeade."

Ron, who had been sucking on a sherbet ball, spit it out. "You little genius!" he hollered, "Malfoy can't be mean to us now!"

Marie grinned at him. "I'm glad you don't hate me for it. I'm going to bed."

After that, the weeks went by quickly, including Marie and Draco's first date. The first one was followed by many more, and by Christmas, they were the most talked about couple.

Mare hadn't heard anything from Draco about Ash, but she knew he'd find out eventually. She just didn't know how right she was.

She had planned to stay at Hogwarts over the holidays, but then her "boyfriend" invited her to come spend Christmas at the Manor instead. Marie obliged, and before she knew it, they were on their way.

As they drove away from the castle and throughout most of the trip, Draco told her about his parents. Marie was a little worried about them accepting her. Draco told her not to worry. There actually was a rich, pureblood family in France named Cartier, so she was covered there. They would be having houseguests too, but she would meet them once she got there.

After a very long time, they reached a very large house, and the carriage stopped. Malfoy helped her out, and they walked to the front door where Narcissa and Lucius were waiting for them.

"And who's this?" Lucius asked.

"This is my girlfriend Marie," Draco answered.

"Well hurry up," Narcissa chided, "The rest of the Redferns arrived ten minutes ago. They're waiting in the kitchen."

The rest of the Redferns? Marie's heart plummeted about a foot. Is Ash here? and his parents and the girls too, oh God how will I pull this off?

She stepped inside, and to her dismay, there it was. The soulmate twang. Narcissa hurried ahead so that they would be properly introduced. As she and Draco neared the dining room, she could actually hear what Narcissa was saying.

"Yes Hawk, Draco brought his new girlfriend Marie with him. She seems really nice."

And then, they were in the dining room. Marie felt like she had no clothes on. She couldn't look Ash in the eyes. Kestrel, Rowan, and Jade were staring at her with open mouths. Desperately, she put a finger to her lips.

Ash's father grinned at her. "Hello Marie, I'm Hawk Redfern and this is my wife Doe, and our daughters, Rowan, Kestrel, and Jade. Our son Ash is over there." He gestured to his left.

"Nice to meet you, Monsieur." She figured that as long as she was doing it, she wouldn't do it halfway.

Finally, she got up the guts to look at Ash. His mouth was open, but the second she turned her gaze, he shut his mouth and squared his shoulders.

"You don't need to introduce us Dad. I know her. We screwed around when I was in France a few summers ago."

He was covering for her!

But before she could say anything, Draco had launched himself at Ash. They rolled around on the floor, punching, and kicking and pulling hair. When Draco ended up on top of Ash he hissed, "You apologize. She's not one of your common whores." Ash swore loudly and shoved Draco over, causing glass to shatter, and house elves to run.

Finally, after Ash gave Draco a bloody nose then hit him with an _Obliviate_ charm; Hawk was able to pull the two boys apart. After the Malfoys left for the hospital, all was quiet. At least until Hawk came back.

"And just what in the fucking hell was that?!" he screamed. "What were you thinking, attacking each other like that?" he had to stop and breathe. Then Ash said quietly, "He insulted my soulmate Dad, what else was I supposed to do?"

A/n- Props to dogs die in hot cars for giving me the idea for the fight scene!

Silver-tigress71- I try and add humor. Thanks for the review!


	8. A Family Discussion

All in ch.1

The whole table was quiet. Hawk looked at Ash, but said nothing. Marie's lips were pursed, and she squeezed herself tighter into the corner. The room was so quiet you could have heard a pin drop. Then Marie straightened up, strode over to her soulmate, and promptly kicked him hard in the shins.

"Oh my god Ash! Was that the best cover you could think of? 'we screwed around when I was in France a few summers ago?' I thought you knew me better then that!"

Ash, who was now massaging his shin and moaning, shot Kestrel an evil glare. _I thought you cured her of that habit in therapy,_ he thought to her angrily.

Kestrel just grinned back. _I didn't think I'd need to. The way she acted during our sessions made me think she'd never want to kick you ever again._

Ash looked up at Marie, who was looking at him again. "Listen sweetheart, the only reason why I said what I said was because that was the kind of person I thought you were as Marie."

Marie sighed. "You're right, I'm sorry."

Finally, Ash had the strength to look his father in the eyes. But it was his mother who spoke. "Ash, honey, who is this girl really?"

Ash took Marie's hand in his and told his parents the story that had lain inside of him for four long months.

"Her name is Mary-Lynnette Carter. She lives next door to the girls. When we first met, we didn't like each other very much, and it seemed like all we ever did was fight. Then, one of Aunt Opal's goats got killed in the same way as Uncle Hodge had been killed. The girls and I figured out that a Night person had done it, so we set out to look for them.

"Now at this point, Aunt Opal was already dead. We figured that the same person that offed her offed the goat too.

There was this oddball guy named Jeremy Lovett who lived in a trailer in the woods. Like I already told you, I knew he was a werewolf, and Mare found out eventually. Then, one night when we were still trying to figure out the identity of the murderer, Mare told us she wanted to go stargazing. I went with her because I thought it would be easier for two people to fight off a psycho killer then one.

"We got into her old station wagon and drove out to the woods. We took a walk, had a talk, and exchanged blood-"

At this, Hawk looked about to explode, but Doe held him back. The girls' expressions were troubled, and they were tightly clutching each other's hands. Marie was listening intently and muttering words of encouragement. Ash continued quietly.

"We exchanged blood. Then, as we were walking back to the car, we noticed something odd. We smelled smoke and burning rubber. When we arrived at the place where the car had been parked, we saw that it was on fire. I don't remember much after that, just waking up once to see Jeremy the evil werewolf trying to hurt Mare."

Doe looked like she was about to cry. The girls still couldn't speak. Hawk was looking livid.

"You let yourself get knocked out by a _werewolf?_" he yelled incredulously. Mare felt it was time to put a stop to his rambling.

"It wasn't his fault Mr. Redfern. Jeremy Lovett was insane. There was no way that any one person could have stopped him. Besides, he got Ash with hard sapwood. There would have been no way he could have stayed conscious."

Hawk gaped at her. A human girl was telling him off and not afraid? She was really something.

"Anyway," she continued, "Jeremy grabbed me after he knocked Ash out and tied me to a tree. He wouldn't let me go until after Ash was dead he told me. He told me that after Ash was dead, he would make me "understand" him. He was gonna turn me into a werewolf." Mare could feel Ash's hand tense under hers, and she could feel his anger and the protectiveness he felt toward her like a tsunami flooding her mind. She continued. "The car was still on fire, and while Jeremy spent his time telling me all that he was gonna do, I pulled myself free of the ropes. Then, while Jeremy was occupied after Ash woke up again, I was able to make my way to the car. Although it was smoking, and there were flames everywhere, I managed to find the silver fruit knife that Mrs. Burdock had lent me to get my gas cap off with. Just as I was about to come back, Jeremy sprung at me, preparing to kill me. Right before he could though, I put the knife right through his ribs. This threw off his lunge, and, writhing with pain, he backed into my flaming car. I pulled myself away.

"By the time I got back to Ash, he'd woken up. I took Jeremy's clothes and used them to help wipe away the extensive bleeding. Then, I saw my car, and the realization of what I'd done hit me full force. I'd killed someone. That wasn't something I could process lightly, and the next thing I knew, I was crying. I cried for a long time. Then we went home."

The room was silent once again. Tears were running down Doe's cheeks, and the girls' faces were white. Hawk was frowning.

"So what you're basically saying is that you lied to me." He said quietly. "All that shit you fed to me about you killing the werewolf yourself was never true. You let a human girl kill a werewolf, and then you lied about it. You're a disgrace. And unless you let her go, I'm never letting you come home again. You can go to hell for all I care. But if you give her up and marry Crystal like we want you to, then I will reconsider." He stood up and stalked out of the room.

Ash nodded, not having the strength to do much else.

"Who's Crystal?" Marie asked him.

Ash breathed deeply. His voice was shaky, and he sounded on the verge of tears. "Crystal Loch is a member of another prominent Lamia family. We were about to be married before I met you. She has blonde hair, blue eyes, and travels with a crowd of nine other girls. They made up my fan club back home."

Marie grinned in spite of herself.

"I don't see anything funny about the fact that I have to give you up and marry a bitch if I ever want to see my family again."

"No, I'm smiling because it's going to be kind of hard for you to marry her since she and her cronies are now a big pile of ashes buried in the woods next to your Aunt Opal."

Ash pushed her away from himself and stared at her. Doe and the girls gasped. Hawk poked his head out from the kitchen where he had been hiding out. He was no longer angry. Now he was openly gaping.

"Mare, are you saying you killed my entire fan club?"

"Yes." She giggled evily.

"How?"

"Well, late one night about a week after you left, I woke up to see my bedroom curtains enveloped in flames. I managed to hurl myself out my bedroom window. Now that I was out of the house, I saw smoke pouring from every window. On the roof, I noticed the silhouette of a girl holding a container of gasoline. Another girl had matches. Somehow, I managed to get myself onto the roof where I saw eight more. The one holding the gasoline put it down and grabbed my wrist. I could tell from the strength of the grip that I was dealing with a vampire. She dragged me in front of another girl. When I was real close to her, the girl who I was being displayed to, Crystal, I assume, hissed at me "surrender Ash Redfern or die you bitch. He belongs to me."

"Then, the girl holding on to me broke my wrist, causing all the others to laugh uproariously. Gritting my teeth and trying not to think about the pain, I realized that no one was watching the gas, and that the matches were right beside me. Putting the matches in my PJ pocket, I dragged myself over and grabbed the gas with my good hand. I walked back to the crowd who were still laughing like idiots, pleased with what they had done and not paying attention to anything else. That's when I opened the gas and poured a ring around them. Then I dropped the match. There was fire everywhere, and I'm lucky there aren't any neighbors real close by because the screaming would have woken them up for sure. As they burned, I climbed off the roof and went into the kitchen to get a garbage sack. By the time I came back, the screams had subsided, and all that was left was a huge pile of ashes. I scooped them up, put them in the sack, and then went out to the woods to bury it.

"After I finished, I got in my car and drove to the hospital to see what they could do about my wrist. I told them I fell down the stairs. Then I went back to the girls' house to call the fire department. They came, but I spent the night with the girls anyway. Thank god Mark was spending the night at Ben's house." She breathed. "I've never told this to anyone before."

When she finished, she looked up. Everyone was gaping now. Hawk cleared his throat, and Doe smiled. "So honey," she said to Hawk, her voice filled with glee, "What do you think of the human now?"

"Well, technically, I'm a psychic." Marie broke in.

"Oh, really?" Doe was really giving it to Hawk now.

"Yes."

Finally, Hawk relented. "I guess since you're a Night Person as well as a really tough cookie, I should allow Ash to keep seeing you. Welcome to the family."

Doe and the girls cheered. Ash gave Marie a hug. As he did this, Draco Malfoy and his family strode into the dining room, seeing and hearing everything.

Mouseeee- So whaddya think? I love the questions you put at the end of your reviews. They give me direction. Thanks for your support!

Angel- THANK YOU!!!!!! Hope you like the update!


	9. Lies and Surprise

You know what I'm gonna say.

Once again, silence permeated the room. The Redferns were all in predator's crouches, ready to fight if there was a need. Everyone was staring at each other, the Malfoys each sporting a look of pure malevolence on their pale faces.

Lucius was the first to move. He glided over to Marie, the train of his robes flowing behind him.

"So, deceit and treachery is what we have here, do we?" he asked coldly, gray eyes narrowed at Marie.

"_Non, Monsieur. _We were simply planning the, um-

"The wedding," Doe broke in suddenly. "We were planning Ash and Marie's wedding."

Ash's jaw was in his lap. Marie gasped. Thankfully, they regained their composure before any of the Malfoys noticed.

Then Draco stomped over to Marie. "A _wedding?"_ he spat incredulously. "You tricked me into thinking that we had something and you were already engaged?"

Marie threw herself on him, openly weeping all over his robes. _"Oui,"_ she sobbed, forgetting that she'd only been introduced to Ash that afternoon. "We were engaged to each other as children. I only saw him a few times in childhood, and once last summer. It wasn't a few summers ago. Of course he wouldn't care, seeing as he got me pregnant then left me high and dry!

"Please help me Draco, for I don't want to do this at all. He's a monster! All my life I've been afraid-"

But she wouldn't have needed to go any farther. None of the Malfoys showed any antagonism towards her. Luckily, it seemed like they'd forgotten introductions earlier that evening too. Draco was cradling her, his arms around her waist holding her tight, and Narcissa was rubbing her back. Lucius, not being the affectionate type, had retreated to a corner, but a little bit of sympathy was showing in his eyes.

"What happened to the baby?" Narcissa asked in a hushed voice.

"I miscarried." This caused Marie to sob even harder.

Meanwhile, the Redferns watched the scene, amazed, especially Ash.

My God, he thought, Thierry was right. She can manipulate people as well as I can. Then he cleared his throat and stalked over to where Marie and Draco were standing.

"Oh, shut up!" he growled. He grabbed Marie by the shoulder. She screamed in surprise as she and Draco were wretched apart.

"I told you that if you told anyone about that that there would be a price to pay."

Then, he slapped her. It was a good slap. It reverberated through her skull and left a big red patch on her cheek. Her eyes watered from the pain, and she began to cry. Draco swept her up, so that Ash was no longer in her vision. Then he and Narcissa walked her hurriedly away from the dining room.

Later that night, after she had bathed, and had time to recover from the day's events, and it was late enough that all the Malfoys were abed, Marie managed to sneak out of her room. Locating a house elf, she asked it the location of Ash's room. It was glad to show her the way. It left her in front of heavy oak door with a snake carved in the middle. It took a while, but eventually, she managed to get the door open.

When she went in, Ash's lights were still on, and he was up in bed reading a copy of _Moby Dick._

"Where'd you get that?" She asked him.

"Home, actually. Did you ever get the feeling that this book is way longer then it needs to be?"

"Oh yeah." Marie nodded in agreement. "Last year, my Honors English teacher told us that you could take out half of it and the book would still make sense."

"Yeah. Listen Mare, I know I was kind of hard on you today, and I'm sorry if the slap hurt."

"Oh, no. you're doing just fine. Keep it up."

Ash suddenly put the book down. He looked Mare deeply in the eyes. He wasn't thinking about the book anymore, she could tell. His eyes were rapidly changing color. He took her hand and led her outside. The balcony outside his room allowed for a perfect view of the night sky. He began to speak very fast. Just then, a shooting star streaked through the sky.

"Listen sweetheart. There's something I've been wanting to ask you, and if you say no, it's all right and everything, but when my mother said that we were planning our wedding today, it got me thinking that maybe we should make lies into truths." He got down on one knee and took her hand. Then he took out a fairly sizeable diamond ring.

"Mary-Lynnette Carter, will you marry me?"

a pisces- Malfoy can't know that A/ML are soulmates, but I tried to give you the nex best thing. Whaddaya think? Oh, and Hogwarts will be next chapter.

kunegunda- Thank you very much! It's nice to be praised in capital letters!

Angel- Thank you too! Aren't you glad that Malfoy didn't break up A/ML?


	10. Harsh Reality

Okay, only plot mine.

Marie stared at Ash in the dark. He was proposing? This was not good at all! She shifted from foot to foot, wondering what she should say. On the one hand, it would be really nice to be married to him and see him every day, but on the other, she had a mission to take care of that didn't allow for it. What to do, what to do. She thought about her friends, the ones back home, and the ones that she just had. And she thought about Draco, who, even though he and his cronies bashed her and hers mercilessly at school, was a half-decent guy when you got him away from it all. Then, she got an idea. She breathed again, and said, "Not yet. Can you wait on that for a few more months?"

Ash took her hand, and led her back inside. His eyes were dilated and he looked tired. Marie sat down on his bed and pulled him down beside her.

"Let me explain." She told him gently. "We are dealing with a really delicate situation here. I can't screw things up with Draco, and I think that marrying you right now would just not be the best thing."

"No one would have to know." Ash said quietly. "Don't forget, I live in the quick-marriage capital of the world."

Marie looked at him. "And do you honestly think that I would agree to get married in some drive through Vegas wedding chapel?"

Ash shook his head. "Of course not. That would just be the last resort if worse came to worse."

Marie sighed. "Don't think I don't want to marry you, because I do, and I'm ready to and all that. It hurts me so bad that it has to be this way, but I have to think of all the things that I'm risking."

Ash nodded. Marie stood up and walked towards the door. Before she left though, she turned around. Ash was still looking at her. "I'm sorry." She whispered, then shut the door, and walked back down the hall to her room, where she didn't sleep for the rest of the night because she was too busy soaking her pillow with tears.

The next morning at breakfast, Marie didn't feel like talking much, and neither did Ash. Everybody else talked a lot. Afterwards, they went their separate ways, Marie having snowball fights with Draco, and Ash reading books in his room.

All too soon, the winter holiday was over. Christmas came and went, but Marie hardly noticed. When it came time to board the school train, they sat in their separate compartments, Ash with his Slytherins, and Marie with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. Marie talked, acting more lively and happy then she felt because she didn't want anyone worrying about her.

She was grateful for the distractions that school provided, and in time she forgot her guilt. Then, one day in the library, she decided to put her idea into action. On that particular day, she and Hermione were in the library doing research for History of Magic, and Ash was there doing Potions research. Although Marie had decided from the start that she would make no contact with Ash during school, this was the one exception.

"Hermione, could you come with me a second?" she whispered, praying that Madame Pince, the really scary librarian wouldn't hear her.

"Sure Marie." Hermione whispered back. They pushed their chairs out from behind the table, and walked over to where Ash was studying. Marie placed a hand on his wrist, enabling the soulmate connection.

_Ash, _she said with her mind,_ Ash, look at me._ Ash looked up, startled. He gave Hermione a questioning glance.

_Ash, this is my friend Hermione. We have a lot in common. I know what I'm about to say won't make you very happy, but I need to say it. We can't see each other at school either, but I have a feeling you and Hermione would really get along for now._

Ash's eyes widened. _You can't be serious _he thought back.

_Yes, I am. Ask her a question about school or something. Get to know her. If you do this for me now, I will compensate you very nicely for it later._

Ash grinned. _Is that a promise?_

Marie rolled her eyes. _Yes, it's a promise._ Then she straightened up. "Hermione, this is my real boyfriend Ash."

Hermione grinned. "Hi." Marie could tell that her friend was attracted to Ash and that made things much easier.

Ash grinned back. "Hey. Listen, I'm having some trouble with my Potions essay. Would you help me? It's not due 'til Monday, and this weekend's a Hogsmeade weekend, so maybe we could discuss it then?"

Hermione was blushing like crazy, but she finally managed to stammer, "All right. See you then."

Ash smiled as Marie led Hermione away. "I guess it's a date."

A/n- I know you are all going to hate me for this chapter, but please be merciful! They do get married eventually, just not now!

**sexyirishBeep- New reviewers are always nice. Thanks. I never thought I'd have people begging me to update my stories!**

**Rela- I won't be stopping yet! Thanks for the review!**

**sam- THANK YOU!!! Here's another chapter!**

**dogs die in hot cars: glad you could come back. You never know what'll happen in storyland…**

**silver-tigress71- thanks, I try.**

**a pisces- sorry to disappoint the faithful. But read the author's note at the end and feel reassured. And Malfoy just might propose…**


	11. Plans Foiled

We all really know that no known characters are mine, right?

After getting back to the common room that night, Marie and Hermione had a little talk. Hermione was beginning to regret agreeing to date Ash for Marie because of a particularly brutal confrontation that had occurred in the hall in front of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom earlier that day. Malfoy had come up to the trio and said the most horrible thing. It was even more horrible then normal, and it had left Harry, Ron, and Hermione shaking.

Since Malfoy and Marie had become closer over winter break, Draco had become very possessive of her. He had told Ron and Hermione and Harry that Marie had no desire to see or speak to the three of them ever again. They thought that he had been at least partly transformed by Marie's presence, and also that she had been doing a good job of brain-washing him to be good.

Marie was shocked. She remembered that. She had just been coming back from the library when she came upon the group. Seeing their shocked faces, she had asked Draco what had happened. He had just smiled at her innocently, kissed her on the cheek, and told her that he had told them how close the two of them had gotten over break.

"I suspect it's a bit of a shock for them, but you'll help set them straight, won't you baby?" At the sound of those words, her three friends' faces had twitched and shifted into expressions of disgust and horror, and all the way to Herbology, Marie tried to explain to them about how Malfoy really had turned into a better person.

But now, looking at Hermione's troubled expression, she felt foolish. How could she have doubted her friends like that? Draco was turned around, but only for her. She was the only one immune from his poison tongue.

Now Marie looked at Hermione and asked, "what's the matter? Why are you feeling apprehensive now? You looked real happy in the library."

Hermione nodded. "I know. I was happy then, but the confrontation today made me think that maybe Ash only fixed himself for you and no one else. Maybe he'll let the insults fly as soon as he knows you can't do anything about it."

Marie nodded. "I see. Well, you won't have to worry about that. Remember what I told you about him the first night I was at Grimmauld Place? The thing about him joining a pro-human group just for me?"

Hermione's eyes widened. No, she hadn't remembered hearing anything about this at all. It told her a lot about Ash's character. "He joined a pro-human group just for you?"

Marie nodded. "Yes, he did. It's kind of like the Night World's version of the Order. It has a lot of human-Night Person couples like us."

Hermione grinned. "That's great. Now, can we figure out what I should wear? Oh, and what about Draco?"

Marie grinned at her mischievously, "Oh, don't worry. I'll take care of Draco."

The rest of the week went by quickly, and before Hermione knew it, it was time for the Hogsmeade weekend, and her date with Ash. She wanted to know what Marie was planning to do to Draco, but every single time she would ask, Marie would just get this funny twinkle in her eye and tell Hermione not to worry, and that she would see later.

Hermione met Ash at The Three Broomsticks, and since it was still really cold outside, they found a table to spread their books on that was right by the fire. Then, they ordered two butterbeers each, and talked long into the night about Potions, and everything else under the sun.

Marie had decided not to go to Hogsmeade that day for some obvious reasons. After seeing Hermione off safely, she went back to a quiet, deserted common room. There, she put on her prettiest robe, set her jaw, and squared her shoulders. Then, she strode to the Fat Lady's portrait to begin the long trek to the dungeons to have a little talk with Draco.

She arrived there twenty minutes later, much angrier then when she had left, because she had had time to run the confrontation through her mind. She found Draco sitting in an easy chair in the Slytherin common room looking into the fire. His eyes brightened considerably at the sight of her.

"Marie! What a pleasant surprise!"

Marie, however, held her ground, still intent on her goal. "Draco Malfoy, what in ze 'ell-"

"I'm so glad you're here!" he continued to gush as if she hadn't spoken at all. "You and I need to go see the headmaster about your living arrangements."

Marie stopped in the middle of her tirade. "_Porquoi? _Why do we need to see ze headmaster about my living arrangements?"

Draco looked at her. "Because, honey," he said smoothly, "now that we're so close, I think it would be best for you to not see so much of Potty, Weasel, and Granger. You'll move here to Slytherin, with me."

Marie felt the need to tell him to go screw himself, but her retort suddenly died on her lips. All of a sudden, she felt her lip jut out, and hot tears streaming down her cheeks. "But what about _him_?" she sobbed, referring to Ash. Malfoy's eyes darkened. He had apparently not forgotten about Ash's supposed callous treatment of her.

"Don't worry about him. I'll have him switched to Gryffindor, and see how Granger handles it."

He took her hand and they walked to the headmaster's office. As much as Marie didn't want to admit it, this was a perfect cover.

When Dumbledore allowed them entrance into his office, they stepped in and took a seat. When Draco made the request for a house change, the headmaster looked puzzled.

"And what is your reason for wanting this house change, Mr. Malfoy?"

Draco grinned. "Yesterday, I received an owl from my mother saying how much she enjoyed having Marie as company over winter holidays. The letter also requested that she become part of the family, and that I should start by having us share a house."

Marie gasped. No wonder he had sounded so weird when he had said the word 'close.' Great, she thought, most girls only get one proposal in their lifetimes. It looks like I'm going to get two.

**Mental Twitch- New reviewers are always nice. I tried not to make you wait too long. Hope you like the update!**

**Jez101- Yet another new reviewer! This story draws in a lot. I'm glad you enjoy the story so far, and I hope I keep it good enough for you!**

**Angel- Welcome back! Does anyone really like Malfoy in any way? I hope you liked the update!**

**sexyirishBeep- Marie told Ash to get to know Hermione, like a friend, but they won't get serious. I don't think there will be any more pairings. Thanks for the review, and I hope you liked the update!**

**a pisces- Be assured that there is no possible way I'd let either pair get serious. I mean, that would wreck the whole soulmate thing! Sorry last entry was so short, and thanks for being so understanding about it. (wink, wink. I didn't want to be hunted down.) I hope you liked this chapter. More A/H next chapter.**


	12. Proving Her Worth

Okay, ONLY PLOT MINE!!!!!!

Marie stared at Dumbledore. She was holding her breath, waiting to hear what he would say. Although she didn't really want to switch houses, she had to think of the job. She hoped Dumbledore was aware of her mission, and would answer accordingly. She needn't have worried, however.

"Of course you and Miss Cartier may share a house, Mr. Malfoy. I will inform Severus and Minerva immediately."

Malfoy looked surprised at the headmaster's immediate approval. The fool was a stickler for rules, and house switching would definitely be against those rules.

Marie and Draco remained alone in Dumbledore's office while he left to fetch Professors Snape and McGonagall. They didn't speak to one another, or look into each other's eyes, but Draco did take hold of Marie's hand. Although she hated him for what he'd done to her friends, a little part of her was beginning to feel fond of him. Not _love_ him. Just like him a little. He was a misunderstood guy. He and Ash were so much alike, and Marie supposed that if she couldn't be with Ash, here was the next best thing.

Just then, Dumbledore returned, the other two professors trailing in his wake. Professor McGonagall's mouth was set in a firm line, and Professor Snape still wore that look of contempt and hatred that he reserved for all Gryffindors, but as Snape looked at her, the loathing on his face wasn't quite as definite. It was more uncertainty then anything else, as if he didn't know _what_ he should think about her.

I wonder if that's the look he reserves for former-Gryfindor-but-almost-Slytherins, Marie mused to herself.

"All right, now" Dumbledore said, snapping Marie back to reality. "Miss Cartier, you will now be in Slytherin. Severus, I expect you to treat her as one of your own."

The Potions Master nodded. It was quick and brief, and afterwards, he looked as if he was glad to have it over with

Dumbledore was continuing. "Your things have already been moved to the dungeons. Mr. Malfoy, I am certain you can show Miss Cartier to her new rooms?"

Draco nodded. "Yes, Sir." He grabbed Marie's hand. When they reached the door, he turned around. "Sir, Ash Redfern has a past with her, and she doesn't really feel safe around him. Could you switch him to Gryffindor?"

Dumbledore smiled. "Don't worry about that, Mr. Malfoy. Mr. Redfern has been taken care of."

Draco grinned, and led Marie away from the Headmaster's office. Professor Snape followed them. Draco talked all the way to the dungeons.

There was something strange going on. Ash could feel it. He was sitting in the Slytherin common room looking over some class notes when all of a sudden, Professor Dumbledore's pet phoenix, Fawkes perched on the desk next to him. He was carrying a letter from his owner telling Ash that he had been switched to Gryffindor house. Ash brightened. Maybe they were taking pity on him and letting him be with Mare.

Thanks to spending so much time with Hermione, Ash knew were the Gryffindor common room was. But when he got there, there was no Mare present. Just Hermione and the two guys she hung out with.

"Hey Hermione, where's Mare?" Hermione looked at him strangely. "She's been moved to Slytherin. They put you here instead. This is Ron," she indicated a red-haired boy, "and this is Harry Potter." After pointing Harry out, Hermione looked back to Ash, who looked floored.

"Why did they move her there?" Ash asked.

Hermione looked uncertain, like she knew something that she didn't want to tell him. Then, she breathed deeply and began speaking.

"They moved her to Slytherin because Malfoy got an owl from his mother requesting that the two of them become more 'friendly'"

Ash's eyes narrowed. "Just how _friendly_ are we talking about here?"

Hermione decided to just tell him. That would be better. "I think you'll have a married soulmate by the end of the year."

Ash's eyes widened. "Excuse me." He ran to the boys' dorms and shut the door, but that couldn't block out the hour of cursing and yelling that followed.

When Ash returned, he asked "Why is all this happening?"

Hermione looked at him. It was a Mary-Lynnette look, and it made him want to cry. "Mary-Lynnette's on a mission. She's supposed to watch his movements until the Final Battle. After that, if all goes well, Malfoy's dad will be thrown in wizard prison forever. Honestly though, we never thought he would fall in love with her."

"I can deal with it," Ash assured her. "I'm not even supposed to be around her now anyway."

When Marie entered the Slytherin common room, she felt a bunch of eyes on her. She looked up and saw that she was being watched by every single member of Slytherin house.

Snape went to his offices without saying anything, but Draco stood on a table, and yelled for the whole house's attention.

"Everyone, this is Marie. She got transferred here from Gryffindor. She's not all soft and noble like the rest of them, so be nice to her. If all goes well, the two of us will be married by the end of the year."

Even after Draco's speech, the whole room was motionless and staring at her,

Then, one girl got on the table Draco had vacated, and addressed the whole house.

"Oh, come on everyone, her mother was a _muggle_. It's not the biggest news in the world. Besides Draco, what's so great about her? She's _ugly._"

After this statement, the cold eyes of her new housemates shifted towards her, waiting to see what she would do.

Draco was about to jump up and fight for her honor, but Marie held him back. She stood next to Draco and addressed the girl in a light voice. "Oh, gosh Pansy, and you're pretty? To what, I wonder. And if _I'm_ ugly, I'd 'ate to see what dead and rotting piece of vermin they'd have to dredge up to make you look attractive."

After she finished speaking, the rest of the house laughed and cheered, causing Pansy to look sour. Marie had passed the test. She had been accepted by the new group. When she turned around to look at Draco, she saw he had a stunned look on his face.

"What?" she asked him.

"Oh, I'm just a little surprised, that's all. I didn't think you had it in you to be such a character assassinator."

Marie snorted. "You'd be surprised what I can do if I'm provoked."

Draco put his arm around her, and Marie thought to herself, I know I can't be with Ash, but Draco's mostly all right. Granted it would take a self-discovery mission to get him to get him completely, I like him, and I think it will be an okay year.

After arriving at the Slytherin common room, Professor Severus Snape, head of Slytherin house, had gone straight to his offices. He didn't know what to think about Marie, his new student. He would be scoffing if most Gryffindor students got thrown to the snakes, but there was something different about her. She seemed_ tougher_ somehow. Now, all that he could do was see how the girl handled initiation. He walked down the hall to the common room, but didn't go in. he just watched. He knew that someone would try and take a few jabs at her.

When Pansy Parkinson had commented upon her appearance and bloodlines, Severus held onto the wall and watched with bated breath.

Draco got up to try and defend the girl's honor, but she pushed him back, and shot Pansy with a very large dose of venom. The whole house was cheering. Severus turned away from the wall, grinning. This girl was going to be just fine.

**Valeskanyax- Thanks! I carried on. What do you think?**

**dogs die in hot cars- That's okay. Don't you just hate computers sometimes? And I have good news. I lied. There will be a little something between Hermione and Ash.**

**silver-tigress71- Thanks for the review. Do you like that Malfoy's different, or not? I'm sorry to say, no big soulmate scenes 'til the end!**

**piscean wisdom- Dumbledore allowed the change because the mission required it, and under those circumstances, the Order takes precedence over the founders of Hogwarts. Thanks for the review!**

**Mental Twitch- You really are great! I hope you liked the new chapter, and I hope I didn't make you wait too long!**

**Angel- Thanks so much for the review. I'm glad you're liking the story. Ash didn't kill Draco, but he was seriously thinking about it!**

**sexyirishBeep- Thanks for the review! Hope you like Ash's reaction!**


	13. The Bad Effects of Soulmate Withdrawl

By ch. 13, we all should know that only the plot is my genius.

As the weeks after Marie's introduction to Slytherin went by, she began to be more comfortable with her sourroundings. After a week, she was no longer shocked by the sight of silver and green, and she even got used to Malfoy's constant presence. He was with her night and day, and she barely got a moment alone, but they were together now, so that was all right.

There was one thing about Draco that annoyed her slightly: Crabbe and Goyle's hanging around. The pair of them were big, and stupid and had no idea what manners were. She tried to tell Draco how she felt, but every time she would try and tell Draco to go send them somewhere else, something stopped her. It was like her brain had been split in two. One part was the part she knew, the part that beat up big blond cats and killed psycho killer werewolves and stuck-up lamia bitches. But the other part was completely different. It told her to be demure and passive. Let Draco do as he saw fit and suffer in silence. When she first discovered these two parts, the part she knew as her was really strong and hollering loud and clear. But as the weeks went by, it kept getting quieter and quieter, and Marie wasn't sure how to make it come back.

Ever since Ash had found out about Mare's true purpose here, and what was going on between his soulmate and his enemy, he had been depressed. To be away from the love of his life completely and never see her, that was one thing. But to know that she was so close to him, to know that he could touch her, hold her, and love her but that he wasn't able to because of a god damn technicality, that was too much.

He had let himself go. He barely fed anymore, and the feeling of bloodlust raced through his veins day and night. He drank instead. Before he had left home, he had grabbed several packs of beer and was now downing a six-pack a night. After this had gone on for about a week, Hermione told him he needed to get out and see the outside world. They set a date for that evening, and when Hermione met Ash in the common room, he couldn't help but notice the extremely attractive blood-red, off-the-shoulder gown that she was wearing. She had such a pretty throat. He looked around. They were alone. But someone was bound to hear her scream if he bit her right here. There were too many doors and too many minds. He looked deep into her eyes.

"Would you come outside and look at the stars with me? It's a beautiful evening." Ash didn't know where that came from. Normally, he just found a room with a bed somewhere and got what he wanted. But this seemed different.

Hermione looked at him and smiled. She took his hand and squeezed it. "Of course Ash, I would love to go stargazing with you." Ash's eyes lit up and, holding hands, they left the common room and went out into the night.

Marie couldn't sleep. She hadn't been able to for several nights now. Every time she closed her eyes, she'd have nightmares. The nightmares made no sense to her. They would begin in an empty room. The room would be dark as well. Then, lights would flash bright, and she would see two animals on the floor: a rat and a snake. But the snake wouldn't eat the rat, it would just slither around while the rat scuttled in its wake. Then, the room would darken again, flash bright again, and this time, there would be nothing in the room but a chair, and draped over the chair would be a beautiful white wedding dress. But when Marie came forward to touch the dress, it would turn red, she would pull her fingers away, and to her horror, find fresh, warm blood on her fingers. Then, the room would erupt into flames. She would throw herself against the wall, and just before the flames would reach her, she would see the comforting visage of a tall, handsome blond boy. He'd hold out his hand and she would take it. Then, dropping to the ground, they would manage to find a window and pull themselves out. Then she'd see that she hadn't been alone with the boy after all. There had been several others in the room with her, and now she could hear their shrieks and screams of anguish as the beautiful church burned before her eyes, green light streaming out of the broken windows. Then, thankfully, mercifully, everything would fade to black and she would wake up and find herself alone in her room.

Hermione could never remember feeling so happy. Or so beautiful. Ash was acting a little bit strange tonight, but that was all right. He wouldn't let go of her hand or stop gazing into her eyes. When he talked, all he said was complimentary. When he kissed her, she felt pain at her neck. Then she felt dizzy and drowsy. As she looked up at the sky, the stars seemed to move and dance. It was a beautiful sight. Then, it faded away as she fell asleep. After he was finished, Ash lifted his head away from Hermione's sleeping form triumphantly, her blood dripping down his chin. Then, he cut his wrist and let the blood trickle into her mouth. After she fell asleep, he put her down, and left her to wake up alone in the courtyard.

She still didn't know what it meant, and she didn't really want to find out. After telling Snape and the Headmaster about it, it was agreed that Marie should take some time off from her studies and have a little vacation. She and Draco took off for the Manor following a particularly bad night. They didn't talk at all on the ride up, and when they arrived, Narcissa greeted them at the door looking worried and wanting to get Marie inside as soon as possible.

"I don't think that it would be wise for her to be alone," she told Draco in nervous voice. "I think the two of you should share a room.

Draco nodded, trying not to let his happiness show too much. That day was one of the most relaxing days Marie had had in a long time. But what she didn't know was that Draco's plans for that night would make it even better.

Hermione had gone out on several dates with Ash, and now something weird was going on. She no longer felt like eating normal food. That was weird. Then there was the thing about light. She had always been an early riser, but now she couldn't handle light. It hurt her eyes.

Finally, she decided to ask him if he had any idea what was wrong with her. He took one look at her, and she couldn't believe his face. He looked scared. He looked shocked.

"Hermione, I can't believe this. I am so sorry! I do know what's wrong with you. You're a vampire."

She looked at him in disbelief. "How can I be a vampire? In order for that to happen, I'd have to know a vampire, then get bitten by them."

He cast his eyes downward, away from her. "I'm a vampire, Hermione. I haven't been feeding lately, and I guess I used you to help quench my bloodlust."

"What?"

"Ever since you told me about Malfoy and Mare, I've been really depressed. I haven't been feeding. So I guess when we went out, I fed on you and that's why you're a vampire now."

"Why would you do that?"

"You know about the soulmate principle."

Hermione nodded.

"Well, there's a little side-effect to it called 'soumate withdrawl.' If you're away from your soulmate when you're physically close to each other, you become attached to the first member of the opposite sex you see, often with horrible results. I know Mare's got it too, and I don't want to know how it's affecting her."

Marie woke up to another bright and sunny day. She smiled at the sight of Draco's sleeping form in the bed beside her. She had been sleeping with Draco for awhile now, and felt comforted when his warm body pressed up against hers for long, passionate hours in the night. The first few times, she had seen the same blond boy from her dream in her mind looking at her with sad eyes. Now she didn't even see him anymore, nor did she ever want to. She was content with her life and never wanted it to change.

**dogs die in hot cars- Like the Ash and Hermione? What will they do now? Thanks for the review!**

**Mental Twitch- Sorry for creeping you out. I'm not sure when Ash will kick Malfoy's butt exactly, but he will.**

**sexyirishBeep- Full-frontal vampireness just for you. Thanks for the review!**

**Angel- Thanks. Don't worry, I scared a lot of people last chapter.**

**Piscean Wisdom- They aren't serious, they are very ill mentally. Marie and Malfoy started earlier though. Thanks so much for the review! **


	14. Kidnapping Marie

Only plot is mine!

Ash and Hermione spent a lot of time together in the next week. Ash did a very good job teaching her about vampire life when he wasn't apologizing profusely for making it occur in the first place.

But Hermione was all right with it. "Enough about me," she told him one day after a particularly interesting vampire lesson. Thankfully, she was getting more used to the light now. "What matters is you and Mare. We have to get her away from Draco. That's all there is to it."

Ash liked the plan, but was a little skeptical. "What about her Soulmate Withdrawl? I've been getting some very unpleasant vibes in the middle of the night if you know what I mean."

Hermione's jaw dropped. "You mean they're actually _sleeping together?_"

Ash nodded miserably. "And I thought she would at least finish school before she did anything like that."

All of a sudden, Hermione's eyes lit up. "Ash, have you actually met Marie?"

"You mean the possessed version of Mare? No. Draco's got her glued to his hip. I wouldn't have a chance."

"See, that's the thing! It's not _Mare_ Draco's dating! It would only be Mare if you had some part of her.

Ash just looked at her. "I don't get it."

Hermione nodded. "Okay, let me put this in soulmate terms. Mare is your soulmate, right?"

Ash nodded. "Right."

"But Draco is _Marie's _soulmate. Or so she thinks. Being away from you has made her forget such a big part of herself that she's forgotten who she is. But there is a way to fix it."

Ash's eyes lit up with hope. "How?"

Hermione grinned evilly. "I'll have to talk to Professor Dumbledore about it, but I think that once I explain the urgency of the situation, he'll let Mare go on another vacation, this time with you."

"And where will this vacation be?"

"You and Mare will be going back to Oregon until she finds herself again."

Ash grinned. "I like it. But how will I get Mare to come with me?"

"Easy," Hermione said lightly, "you kidnap her. I'll go arrange it with Professor Dumbledore right now."

The next day, Ash met with Hermione and they discussed the plan. Of course Ash knew where the Manor was. He planned to go that night.

It was dark as Ash tiptoed into Malfoy's bedroom where both he and Mare were sleeping. To his intense relief, both of them were wearing clothes. Careful not to shake the bed, he gave her a very heavy dose of Dreamless Sleep potion and scooped up Mare, extremely grateful that she was a very sound sleeper. Going carefully down the stairs, he made it out of the house without anyone noticing, placed Mare in the backseat of his car, and drove off.

The airport was crowded, and Ash had to keep dodging tourists. That was no easy task seeing as he was carrying the sleeping Mare also. When it finally came time to board, he sat in the seat next to her just looking. It was all he could do. It took many hours and many sneaky potion refills, but they managed to get back to Oregon without much incident. Ash drove up to his sisters' house and picked up Mare again. When he knocked, Rowan answered the door.

"Will she be all right?" she asked worriedly.

"Yeah, she'll be fine. It's just a bad case of Soulmate Withdrawl."

Rowan shuddered. "How awful."

Ash laid sleeping Mare down on the couch, and Rowan brought water to splash on Mare's face. She came to almost immediately, but her expression wasn't very reassuring. Even when Rowan reached out a calming hand, she cried out in anger and curled up into the back of the couch.

"Who are you people? Why am I here? You kidnapped me, didn't you? My boyfriend will give you money, just take me back!" at this last word, she burst into sobs.

Ash was looking like he wanted to cry himself. "Sweetheart, we don't want money. You're really sick right now. We want you to get better."

Mare stopped crying and sniffled. "I'm really sick right now?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, you're real sick right now. Do you know who I am?"

Mare shook her head. "No, but I think I want to."

Ash nodded. That was encouraging. He gestured at Rowan.

"Do you know her?"

Again, Mare shook her head. "No, but I think I want to."

Ash put his arm around her and sighed. This would take awhile, but it would be worth every minute.

Piscean Wisdom- See, we're getting there! And about a D/H pairing, I shouldn't say no, but I don't think so.

Angel- I wouldn't! I wouldn't write the story if Mare ended up with Draco because that _would _be wrong!

Mental Twitch- I surprised myself with Vampire Hermione! Do you feel better now?

Dogs die in hot cars- I like making things complicated. They went on a few dates and he bit her each time.

sexyirishBeep- You're welcome! Hope you like the update!


	15. A Triumphant Return

See ch.1

The next few weeks were an on again-off again blur. Sometimes Mare seemed very near her original self, and other times, it was as if she had never been Ash's at all.

He knew that it would take time, but he didn't know how much time he had left. He knew that Malfoy would've figured out that she was gone by now, and he knew he would come back. And he would have some big magical guard with him. It was only a matter of time. He had to work quickly.

First, she spent a few days at her own house being reacquainted with her family members. It was scary how much the withdrawl had changed her. When asked about people she knew, she only named sordid members of the Malfoy family and their friends. She didn't know Mark, or Claudine, or anyone.

Ash called his parents, and they came quickly. Despite their brief introduction to her, they had become very fond of the sweet, smart, tough cookie who was set to be married to him. Both of them were as distressed as his sisters. Jade was hit particularly hard, and Kestrel remarked that no possible amount of anything that she had ever said to Mare could fix it immediately.

It was decided that it might be best for her to go back to Dewitt High to do some of her senior year. She could get to know some of her old friends again, and get back to the life of the girl he knew. They also decided that it wasn't safe for her to be alone. Kestrel or Jade would be with her at all times to prevent any possible issues that could occur. With that settled, they all went to bed, content with their plans for tomorrow.

When Mare woke up, Kestrel was standing in her bedroom. The girls had decided to meet and help Mare pick out proper human school attire. After she was dressed and ready for the day, Jade and Kestrel hustled her out to their car, a used silver Lexus convertible. Kestrel had recently gotten her license, and everyone was much relieved now that someone else besides Mare could drive.

At school, Mare stared with wide eyes at things she was convinced she'd never seen before, and both her guards had a great time explaining it all. In Shakespeare, Mare had to do a duet scene from_ Much Ado About Nothing_ with the very handsome captain of the school football team. Much to the girls' surprise and relief, Mare did it only grudgingly, remarking that the young man had only read the lines and not felt them, and that there was another person that she knew who could do it so much better. It was a major breakthrough, and one they would gladly report to everyone stationed back at home.

That was the only really good part of the day, though. When it was time for Astronomy, her favorite class, Mare went slow, saying she had bad feelings about it. The girls grudgingly put one hand each on her back and pushed.

When they arrived at the classroom and looked into it, they noticed something very odd. There were no other girls in the class, only subtly good-looking boys. When Mare entered the room, they all trained their eyes on her. Each one was wearing a hungry, triumphant expression. The two vampire girls didn't believe that their charge was in any real danger, and that the boys were simply admiring the only female in their midst. But there was more to it then that, and the girls didn't have a clue.

Draco Malfoy was furious. Marie was gone, had been for about two weeks, and he had no idea where she was. But he should. He should have known better then to hire from the werewolf mob he had connections with. Why did he always have to be stuck with extremely stupid help? Why couldn't he have intelligent people on his side for once?

Suddenly, an owl flew down on the desk beside him clutching a letter. He breathed deeply, cursing. About time, he thought. He pulled the letter from the owl's leg, unwrapped it, and read it, frowning deeper with each line.

_Boss,_

_We found the girl, and have infiltrated her school, aware of her every move. However, yesterday, the leader of our little group saw her, and no longer believes that this is a job worth doing. he wants the girl, and says that if you do anything to stop him, he will kill you._

Draco crumpled up the paper in his fist, and threw it into the fire. He had never been so angry in his life. He'd have to go and get her himself. That was all there was to it.

Ash was near the end of his sanity. It had been almost a month, and they had only seen little changes. He wanted big ones, and he wanted them now. He had to help her along. He invited her to come for a drive with him, and then they would do some stargazing. Thankfully, that was the one part of herself that she seemed to have recovered. She consented and they drove away into the night.

He knew exactly where he wanted to go, although she hadn't when she'd driven him here six months ago. It was a sort of comfort to him to be driving into the woods where the two of them had shared their first kiss. He stopped at the familiar spot, and opened her door. She stepped out, and looked up at the sky. He put his arms around her and led her to their kissing tree. When he joined his lips with hers, he felt the most reassuring thing in the world: rememberance, joy, love. When he released her, she grinned and hugged him tighter.

"Ash, my god. I'm so sorry about all of this. Maybe if we'd gotten married at the drive-through chapel then none of this would have happened."

He could only look at her through a veil of happy tears. "That's all right sweetheart. The important thing is that you're all right now."

Just then, they heard a noise in the bushes. Ash quickly pushed Mare away so she could help him fight off any danger. Before either of them could even breathe, a dark shape dropped from one of the nearby trees. It was a werewolf, Mare could see his ring.

My god, why does it always have to happen here? she thought to herself. She looked over at Ash, and was reassured to see that this time, she wouldn't have to fight alone.

She looked up, and saw a graceful figure stepping out of the shadows. Draco was here to claim what was his.

"Ash!" she screamed, "take care of Draco!"

She turned her attention to the werewolf pack, which seemed to have multiplied. She was dismayed to hear Ash's response.

"Mare, I can't just beat the crap out of him, I need a motive. This is really your fault, you know."

Mare delivered a skillful punch to one of the pack's faces to give herself time to think. Then the idea came to her: "pretend I'm pregnant."

That set Ash off real quick. He grabbed Draco by the collar and proceeded to deliver painful blows to his face and midsection. But Mare didn't have the time to watch. There were too many wolves for just simple beating. She needed a silver weapon. Thankfully, she had another fruit knife in the trunk of her car. She managed to get to the wreckage of her vehicle and get it, then she went back.

She continued punching and kicking until one of the wolves scratched her arms deeply. Then, she grabbed that one by the scruff of its neck and was about to end its life when she heard a voice. Although it spoke in a sad, mournful tone, her heart froze, and she stopped the knife right where it was.

"I knew it Mary-Lynnette. I told you he was evil, but you didn't listen to me. Now you're killing people. How could you?"

Sarah Kristopher 4eva- Thank you, and thanks for the review!

Sunshine Aradia- Thanks for the review! Hope you like this.

Mental Twitch- Thanks! You will see vamp changes in Hermione all in due time.

Dogs die in hot cars- Me too! Hope you like the update!

sexyirishBeep- I try. Hope you like this too. Thanks for the review!

Piscean Wisdom- Still thinking about T/H S.W. Glad I could reassure you, and thanks a lot!

Angel- Thanks! What do you think of this chapter?


	16. Kidnapped Again

Only plot is mine!

At the sound of the voice, Mare dropped the knife to the ground and turned to face the speaker. She looked into his eyes, and tried not to scream. But when her voice came out, it was still only a whisper.

"Jeremy." She fell back to a sitting position, and tried to pull away from his imposing figure as he advanced upon her. He looked at her, his face full of self-righteous anger, as he stared at his fallen friend who lay dying and the gleaming knife on the ground beside her.

"I told you Mary-Lynnette. I told you he was evil. But you didn't listen. Now you're killing people. How could you?" Jeremy repeated, his voice breaking.

She shook her head, trying to stop the tears that were attempting to force themselves out of her closed eyelids. What she was going to say next, she didn't really want to say, because it went against everything she believed in, and everything she had ever been taught. Even so, she forced herself to look directly into his eyes, making sure all of his attention was upon her. She swallowed, neutralized her expression, and forced her voice to harden.

"Jeremy, you and your little puppy band aren't people. As much as I tried to tell myself otherwise, you proved me wrong. And to think, I defended you against Ash all those times he called you vermin. I told him that you were kind, gentle, wonderful. I provoked him by calling you handsome, sensible, intelligent. But I guess I was wrong. I guess I was wrong because you aren't a person. You're vermin. You're a monster. If I had told Ash that I was meant to be with you back in the woods, he would have graciously stepped away. He wouldn't have tied me to a tree, threatened me, and then tried to off you. You're completely insane."

Jeremy had just stared at her during her onslaught. He had let her say her piece. Now, as she finished, he stared at her again. Long, and hard. Finally, he spoke.

"Well, hi to you too, Mary-Lynnette. Glad to see you after all this time."

She just looked at him reproachfully. "What are you doing back? Did the devil find you too nasty for hell?"

He just grinned back at her. "No, I had to take over my uncle's operation, that's all. You can't have a pack of werewolves without a leader, now can you?"

She gritted her teeth. "What _operation_?"

He laughed slightly, insanely. "The werewolf mafia, duh."

"How the hell did you get back?"

"Well, it's a funny story really, but one I will gladly tell you. See, about a week after you betrayed me and stuck me that hole in the ground, some of my buddies got wind of it, and snuck into the woods one night and dug me up. Then, they took me to one of their Circle Midnight contacts. The girl had a spell that would bring me right back. So they bring me to her, clean me up, and then, she says the spell. It takes awhile, but eventually, I wake up. You might say it was my re-birthday." Here he stopped to chuckle uproariously to himself over his extremely horrible sense of humor.

Mare stood up and pointed the knife at his throat. "Just tell the rest of the story."

Jeremy growled slightly, a guttural sound that made the hair on her neck tingle. He pushed her hand back, and the knife was no longer a danger to him.

"Anyway, it was my re-birthday, and it's a tradition that when it's somebody's birthday, they get presents. Well, there was only one thing I wanted for my birthday, Mary-Lynnette."

Mare snorted. "Yeah, I know what you wanted for your 're-birthday.' You wanted to hunt me down and kill me. That's not really news, Jeremy. Tell me something that will shock me."

Something flashed in Jeremy's eyes at her words. When he spoke, his voice was once again gentle. "I never actually wanted to kill you, Mary-Lynnette. I love you. Throw me a bone, will you? I mean, look at them over there." He paused to point in the direction of Ash and Malfoy, who were now both very bruised, and bloody, and panting with exhaustion. "Think about it. All their lives, they got everything they ever wanted. And what about me? I can't have the one thing that I want most in the world because they get it, too!"

Mare wanted to touch him, but kept her distance, thinking of her old car, Mrs. Burdock, and Ethyl the goat. "We wouldn't work, Jeremy. I'm a good girl. And you just said yourself you're the head of the Werewolf Mafia."

Jeremy shook his head violently. "I can change, I promise. Just give me a chance, please? We have our friendship. Let's take it to the next level."

Mare shook her head again. "You can't take something that's no longer there."

Before she could say anything else, he snapped his fingers, and four big werewolves descended upon her. Two took her arms, and two took her legs. She struggled, and screamed, but then, one put duct tape over her mouth and her cries for help ceased. Just then, another pair of wolves drove up in a battered red Ford truck. The four carrying Mare threw her unceremoniously in the back, while Jeremy joined them in the cab. Then, they drove away, the driver saying to Jeremy, "Happy birthday, Boss."

Ash and Malfoy continued to hit each other. Though they both were panting and exhausted, they knew that only one of them could come out of this alive. When they backed into the clearing again, Ash paused, paying dearly for it when Malfoy cuffed him hard in the chin. He felt like something was wrong. Before, Mare had been sending him little mental pick-me-ups, but there weren't any anymore. He had been looking down at the ground, but the punch from Malfoy brought his eyes up long enough that he saw Mare being hauled into the truck, and the truck driving away. Malfoy heard the roar of the engine about the same time he did and ceased his punching.

"What was that?" he asked, sounding a tad bit frightened.

Ash just looked at him. "It's a truck engine, you moron. The werewolves must've gotten Marie."

Malfoy nodded. "Then I guess, as her boyfriend, it is my duty to rescue her."

Ash looked Malfoy up and down and snorted "Puh-lease. Do you honestly think that you can break into a puppy nest, kill a whole bunch of werewolves who are bloodthirsty and insane, and rescue Marie?"

Malfoy's eyes had gone noticeably wider at the words "bloodthirsty and insane." He looked behind him, and then remembered that Crabbe and Goyle weren't there.

Ash nodded to himself, allowing a little grin at Malfoy's expense. "I thought so. I knew that a guy who only makes threats then relies on Daddy to come and save him wouldn't do much by himself. I guess I'll have to go."

"No. We'll both go." Malfoy said, finality in his tone.

Ash looked at him. "Do you have any idea what you're asking for? I know the guy who took her. He's the craziest of all of them, and so lovestruck it's disgusting. He will do _anything_ to get what he wants, and he won't hesitate to kill-" Wait a minute, Ash thought, this could be good.

He straightened up and looked at Malfoy again. "Okay, you're on. But remember that you're coming at your own risk."

Malfoy nodded, and they walked out of the woods, following the loud whine of the truck's bad muffler.

Dogs die in hot cars- Aren't you made at me for bringing Jeremy back? I am so evil! But at least Mare is her old self so that she can fight him off.

A/n- the only reason Ash called Mare Marie was so that Malfoy wouldn't get suspicious. She won't go back to evil mode.

sexyirishBeep- Your wish is my command! Hope you like it!

Nightwood- Thank you so much! I'm glad I could do something for you. Here's your new chapter, and I hope you like it!

Mental Twitch- I'm glad this happened. It draws it out a bit! I'll be so sad when it's over! Hope you like the new chapter!

Angel- You were right! Hope this chapter is just as good! Thanks for the review!

Sarah Kristopher 4eva- I know, it is kind of weird seeing your name on reviewer responses. I still feel a bit weird too. Thanks for the review!


	17. The Knight and Dragon's Quest

Only the plot is mine!

The night was endless and lonely, and while Ash could often take solace in the stars, he couldn't tonight. There was too much to think about, and not much to distract him from thinking about it.

Mare was missing. The werewolves had gotten her while he had been too engaged with other things to think about what was at stake. He could jab wood into his heart right now, but he doubted that it would take the pain away. He felt so stupid. The one chance he had to help Mare out, and she'd ended up getting kidnapped. True, it had been her command that he deal with Malfoy that led to her kidnapping, but why had he listened to her now when he had never done it before? And yeah, even that was a lie. He'd gone on this little thinking mission for her, but when she had suggested it, he'd only done it grudgingly. Where was his sense of fight?

A crunching twig snapped him immediately out of his reverie. He looked behind him, and saw Malfoy splayed on the ground. He sighed.

"What the hell happened to you?" he asked, boredom and annoyance creeping into his tone.

Malfoy looked up at him with bright eyes. "I fell over a root on that tree over there," he whined, "and I think my leg is bleeding."

Ash turned away, and rolled his eyes. Turning back, he noticed Malfoy hadn't gotten up yet. "What are you waiting for?"

Malfoy looked at him in the dark. From what Ash could see, his expression was incredulous.

"Didn't you hear what I just said? I'm _bleeding._ And in a lot of pain. I don't think I'll be able to walk."

Ash just stared. "And what do you want me to do about it? Kiss the ouchie for you? I don't do that, and even if I did, there would only be a few people who would have the privilege. Now get your ass up here right now so we can get to the freakin' puppy castle and rescue your girlfriend!"

And with that, he grabbed Malfoy's hand, and yanked him to his feet. They continued walking, and Malfoy complained about his leg the whole way.

Mare was set in the bed of the truck, and it wasn't very comfortable. She couldn't even sit up. When the vehicle had gotten far enough away from the woods, they had stopped, and the two guys that had grabbed her had brought out rope and had tied her up with it. The bed was hard, and it's red paint was flaking off. The roads they drove along were rocky and uneven, and every so often, they'd hit a bump, causing her to bounce up, then fall down hard on the metal.

Finally, after what seemed like a million years, the truck stopped, and she heard the cab door open. The two thugs got out, and went to the bed of the truck. They picked her up, and she winced.

"Don't worry girlie," one of them whispered. "The boss wants to carry you inside."

Then, she felt a shifting motion, and found herself staring up into Jeremy's deep, dark eyes. After she had looked for a few minutes, he looked ahead, and carried her into the building.

Jeremy stood her up in a dark, dank, and cold room. She could hear water dripping from somewhere in the room. She looked at him. "Where am I?" she asked him calmly.

He looked at her, and spoke slowly. "This is the hideout. We're in the dungeon right now. I have a feeling you aren't really amenable to the current situation, so I've decided to keep you here until you become more cooperative."

Then, he did the finger-snapping thing, and once again, the same burly quartet of werewolves grabbed her, and threw her into a cell. She stood up, and clutched at the bars, screaming.

"Oh my God, do you honestly think that locking me up like an animal is going to make me love you at all? if you do, you are seriously twisted."

Jeremy leaned his face through the bars. "Trust me, Mary-Lynnette, this hurts me a lot worse then it's hurting you. And remember that you don't have to stay here like this. All you have to do is say that you love me, and I'll have my friends over there let you out."

Mare snorted. "In your dreams."

Jeremy sighed nonchalantly. "All right then, have it your way." Then, he turned on his heel, and left her alone.

As soon as she was sure he was gone, she slumped down the cell wall on to the floor of her cell and cried. Ash didn't know where she was, so he couldn't save her, and Malfoy couldn't save anything. As much as she didn't want to admit it, she had to accept her fate.

She was a prisoner.

Ash and Malfoy had been trudging the lonely road for what seemed to Ash like hours. Malfoy was driving him insane. When they got to the castle, Ash was thinking of giving him to the werewolves in exchange for Mare. They'd probably love that.

He could hear Malfoy behind him, whining about something. He had stopped listening long ago. It was probably still about his leg with the ouchie on it. The guy was such a baby. Then again, with goon body guards like he had, he probably never had a reason to toughen up.

Finally, they heard the truck engine stop. Ash told Malfoy to be quiet, and pulled him into a nearby bush where the two of them could see and not be seen.

Ash saw two big, hulking guys get out, then grab something from the bed. It seemed to be struggling violently. Then, the two big guys handed the something to another guy. He looked down at it for a few seconds, and then walked it inside.

"That's Jeremy Lovett," Ash whispered to Malfoy. "He's the guy who wants Marie. She's probably what he's carrying. Now, you and I are going to march in there, and find whatever room they're hiding her in and rescue her. Got it?

He felt Malfoy stiffen reluctantly beside him. "I'm not so sure I want to. Were you serious when you said that those guys in there were bloodthirsty and insane? Because in case you haven't noticed, I'm not exactly capable of fighting really well."

What kind of boyfriend are you? Ash thought to himself. "Yeah, I've noticed you aren't worth anything when it comes to combat, but I've heard that you sure as hell can provoke people. Do you think you could distract them while I get Marie out?"

Malfoy nodded. "Sure. I can do that."

"Then come on." Ash whispered. His voice was barely a breath."

Without a second's pause, they sprinted out of the bushes, and ran towards the werewolves' hideout.

When they got inside, they were both surprised to find the entrance completely unguarded.

"I know werewolves have low I.Q.s, but you'd think that they would least have someone guarding the entrance to their hideout." Ash whispered to himself.

They ran from room to room, finding nothing. After about two hours, they only had one room left: the dungeon. They followed the steps downward, and immediately saw the guards standing at rigid attention, one on either side of Mare's cell.

Ash gestured to Malfoy, and he went to work. He got the guards' attention, and walked them away from the cell, making small talk about various things. Meanwhile, Ash did his job. He strode forward and clutched at the bars, whispering "Mary-Lynnette" loudly over and over again.

Finally, she looked at him. He couldn't help but be shocked. She was filthy, and she looked as if she'd been crying. She let out a gasp at the sight of him, and all but skipped towards the front of the cell.

"Ash!" she whispered loudly, "I thought I would never see you again! How'd you get here?"

"We walked." Ash whispered back.

"What do you mean? Who's 'we?'"

"I brought Malfoy too. He said, and I quote: 'as her boyfriend, it is my duty to rescue her,'"

Mare giggled. "Are you serious?"

Ash nodded. "And then, when we finally did get here, he didn't want to come inside."

"Why?"

Ash cleared his throat. "I told him that Jeremy and his band were bloodthirsty and insane, and I guess it kind of scared him."

Mare nodded. "I bet it did."

Ash straightened up, checking to see if the guards were still otherwise occupied. They were.

"Now," he said to Mare, "let's get you out."

And, thanks to his strength, he managed to pry the bars apart enough so that Mare could escape. The unfortunate side effect of this was that they made a large screeching noise as he pried. Suddenly, the guards gave a yell, and around a hundred werewolves descended upon them. There were too many for them to fight by themselves.

Just then, an authoritive looking owl flew in the window. It held paper and a quill in one of its talons.

Ash grabbed the paper. On the first sheet was a note from Professor Dumbledore:

_Dear Mr. Redfern,_

_We were at dinner this evening when Professor Trelawney announced that you might be in a bit of trouble. Along with this letter, I have sent parchment and a quill. Write down your location, and we will send backup._

_Albus Dumbledore._

Ash quickly grabbed another sheet of parchment, and wrote down the castle's location, and attached it to the owl's waiting leg. Then, the fighting continued as the owl flew away in the night back to Hogwarts.

Mental Twitch- Thanks. I hope you like this chapter!

Piscean Wisdom- Thanks for the review. I hope you think that this chapter is just as excellent.

Dogs die in hot cars- yeah, Mare is too damn lucky. I guess this story is proof that art doesn't necessarily imitate life. Thanks for the review!

Angel- I guess it's hard to be beautiful sometimes. Thanks for the review!

sexyirishBeep- Thanks for the review!


	18. Full Moon Shock

Only the plot is mine!

Ash was feeling great. He hadn't been in a fight like this in a long time, and it relaxed him to beat stupid puppies into a pulp. Mare was helping too, and she looked like she was having the time of her life.

All the same, he hoped the members of the order would be here soon. It could get nasty if he didn't have any backup. Finally, there managed to be a break in the action, and Mare and Ash, both panting, went to rest against the bars of the ruined dungeon cell.

"Are you doing okay?" he asked her between ragged breaths.

Mare nodded. she was bent over with her hands on her thighs, breathing just as raggedly.

"I'm just as all right as you, thank you very much." Suddenly, she turned around and karate chopped a wolf that had been about to bite her neck. He whimpered, and scampered quickly away. Reluctantly pulling themselves away from the bars, Ash and Mare walked back in to the violent melee.

The owl flew in a window of the offices of Hogwarts headmaster Albus Dumbledore. He gently pulled the parchment off the owl's leg, and read it, looking troubled. He turned to face the group of people that were sitting on a table behind him.

He had called this emergency meeting of the Order to discuss just what could be and should be done about Mary-Lynnette Carter's mission. It was turning dangerous from what Mr. Redfern had told him. But they had to get Lucius Malfoy all the same. He had to think about this.

"Sir?" he looked at Remus Lupin steadily.

"Sir, I'm not sure I should be going on this mission. Ash's note says that they're fighting werewolves, and that Mary-Lynnette herself has killed a few. It's almost dark out, and tonight's a full moon. I feel we should act with caution, and that I should stay here."

"Oh, god Moony, will you come off it already? You're an asset! We need you more for this mission then any mission we've ever done! You're gonna do this, or I swear on Prongs' grave that I will do something drastic that will force you to come."

Remus couldn't help but smile and capitulate. Sirius could convince him to do anything.

Dumbledore looked at Sirius Black and smiled. "Thank you, Sirius."

Sirius grinned widely at his former headmaster. "No problem."

Dumbledore cleared his throat, and addressed the group.

"We will apparate to the hideout in five minutes time. Good luck, all of you."

Even after weeks of being a vampire, Hermione still couldn't quite believe the difference that it made. Of course, she did have to drink blood, but Ash had told her she only had to do it once a day, so that was tolerable, she guessed. Harry, Ron, and her other Gryffindor housemates took turns being donors for her. And she made sure to buy lots of blood pops from Honeydukes so that her friends could rest once in a while.

The fact that none of them had recoiled from her in horror when she had told them was a big relief. In fact, far from being horrified or disgusted, many, like the Weasley twins, thought that it was awesome.

"Bloody hell, Hermione," Fred and George had said in tones of wonder, "that is so wicked! Do you know what you can do with those powers of yours? You can look into teacher's minds about tests and stuff so you'll never have to study again! Or better yet: make them forget that we even had a test at all!"

Hermione had only rolled her eyes and laughed, but it made her happy to know that her friends were still there for her.

But the biggest change had been in Malfoy. Mare had convinced him to go back to the castle and wait for her, telling him that it would be safer that way.

Every time he looked at her now, it wasn't in a taunting, mocking way, it was more like he was deeply intrigued by her. She didn't know weather it was a good thing, or a bad thing, but she was curious to find out.

The members of the Order of the Phoenix arrived at the werewolf mafia's hideout castle in a matter of minutes. They entered without much trouble, since the vast wolf majority was battling in the dungeon. They followed the pipes down, and saw the chaos that was occurring.

Several of the werewolves were twitching and convulsing from pain on the floor, and Ash and Mary-Lynnette were fighting with a handful more.

When Dumbledore spotted the two of them, he walked over and tapped Ash on the shoulder.

"We're here Mr. Redfern. What would you like us to do?"

Ash looked away from the werewolf he was punching, and said "would you take him and everyone except that guy?" he asked him, pointing at Jeremy, who was trying to find an alternate route of escape out of the dungeon since all the normal ones were cut off.

"I have a score to settle with him."

Dumbledore nodded, and went off to alert the other Order members, who then began to fight with surprising energy and alacrity.

Then, Ash cornered Jeremy. They looked at each other, the pure hatred they felt for one another unchanged. Then, Ash hit Jeremy in the face, and he fell, slightly dazed, to the floor.

That didn't last long, though. From somewhere inside the ruined dungeon, Jeremy had managed to salvage a splintered oak branch. He charged at Ash with it, and Ash managed to kick it away, but not before it had grazed his face a few times.

Angry with pain, the werewolf and vampire sparred with their choice weapons. Jeremy had his branch, and Ash had a silver sword that Dumbledore had given him.

All around, bodies were dropping, and shrieks and wails filled the air. Finally, Ash cornered Jeremy in the dungeon. In a last ditch attempt at vengeance, Jeremy thrust his wooden lance at Ash's heart, but earlier, Ash had gotten him in the stomach with his sword, so the branch was not close to actually hurting him.

Feeling no regret for what he was about to do, Ash grabbed his sword, and plunged it in Jeremy's heart, stilling his breath forever. Ash had looked up his resurrection spell in one of Thea's spellbooks, and it could only be performed once, thank God.

Just after Jeremy's eyes closed, Ash heard a long, loud howl coming from the main room. He ran out, and saw Dumbledore and some of the others surrounding another werewolf.

He looked at Mare and saw that her eyes were wide with shock. She had seen Professor Lupin transform, and was now staring blankly at the full moon shining brightly through one of the dungeon's barred windows.

**Nightwood- Yep, Jeremy's dead for good. I'm glad you thought the first part** **was so funny. Hope you liked this chapter, and thanks so much for reviewing!**

**sexyirishBeep- Thanks for reviewing! Hope you like this chapter!**

**Mental Twitch- Thanks. You like the Jeremy-Ash battle? I kinda improvised it. I tried to put more HP in this chapter, and now that Mare is better, and Jeremy's dead, the NW/HP ratio should be pretty even.**

**Angel- You're not sad. I hope you like this chapter, and thanks bunches for reviewing!**


	19. The Chapter Everybody Wants

Ch.19 plot the only thing still mine

A/n- 19 chapters, I can't believe it! For all you readers and reviewers, know that it's your reviews that keep this story going. And all true fans must thank Dogs die in hot cars for giving me the first little inkling of encouragement by telling me to breathe more life into this story.

Mare stared with an open mouth at the straining werewolf before her. She wondered how she would be able to go to school and live now, knowing that the guy who taught her on a weekly basis also went gallivanting around English countryside killing animals once a month.

Why me? Mare thought to herself. Why is it that I always manage to make friends, and get real close to them, and then they turn out to be werewolves?

She walked over to Sirius, who was in his dog form, and literally sitting on Remus to prevent any biting. As she didn't want to get bitten herself, she didn't stay long, and moved by Ash, resting her head on his shoulder.

The two of them watched the members of the Order finish off the remaining members of the werewolf mafia. Then, Dumbledore told them to take brooms and go back to the castle.

They flew together, holding hands, grateful that they could be together now, if only for a minute, without having to worry about what anyone else said. But Mare was still slightly bummed about what would happen once they got to the castle. She was still on a mission, which meant that she would still have to marry Malfoy come Hogwarts graduation in June.

Then Ash squeezed her hand, and she looked down at their intertwined fingers. She could sense that there was something important he wanted to ask her about, and she, in turn, had something to ask him.

_You go first, _he thought to her, already knowing what she was going to ask him.

_I would like to know why I went insane, and became Malfoy's fluff-for-brains trophy girlfriend! My god, I slept with the guy like, ten times! I'm amazed that I'm not pregnant!_

At this, Ash narrowed his eyes at her, and gave her a little punch in the shoulder.

_Ash, are you mad at me for it?_

Ash sighed deeply._ No, I'm not mad at you for it. It wasn't even your fault. You were really sick. You had a disease called Soulmate Withdrawal. It's what happens when soulmates who actually like each other, and are physically close, deny one another their company unnecessarily. Then, they become attached to the first member of the opposite sex they see. For you, it was Malfoy. The other effects of it depend on the personalities of the individuals involved. For you, the result was sleeping with Malfoy, and being his trophy girlfriend._

_What about you, Ash? Did you have it too?_

He sighed again._ Yes, I had it. You'll see the results in Hermione when we get back to the castle._

They flew for about four or five hours more, holding each other up during rough spots and Mare wondered all the while what was up with Hermione.

Hermione was in the library again, trying to study. But every so often, she would peek over her book to find Malfoy leering at her from the table where he, Crabbe, and Goyle were doing their Charms homework. Finally, she put her book down, and strode over to the table.

"Malfoy, may I please ask what in the world has come over you? You've been in the library every day this week and last week, and all you do here is stare at me! You hate me, I hate you. That is the kind of relationship we have. You like it that way, and I like it that way. Now can I please study in peace? Your leering is throwing off my concentration!"

She turned around to leave, and was shocked by a sudden light touch on her arm. She turned around, and was surprised to see Malfoy staring looking at her hopefully.

"About our relationship, I was hoping that we could change it. You know that it's Hogsmeade this weekend, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Right."

"Well, I was sort of hoping that you might want to come with me to the Three Broomsticks and have a butterbeer or something."

Hermione frowned at him. "Malfoy, are you asking me out on a _date_? Since when did you become interested in dating, and I quote 'mudblood Gryffindors' anyway?"

He grinned slyly. "When a certain mudblood Gryffindor stopped being a mudblood Gryffindor and became a vampire Gryffindor. You've changed a lot Granger, and I'm beginning to like it."

"What about Marie?"

He shrugged. "She likes Redfern better now, I can tell."

"Are you going to break off your engagement?"

"I think the two of us, that is to say Marie and I, know pretty much that it's over by now without having to say it out loud. But we're still going to have to have the wedding, or else my parents will get angry."

He cleared his throat and changed the subject.

"So, what about Hogsmeade?"

Hermione grinned slightly. "Sure, I'm willing to give it a try. But if we're going to have a relationship, we have to set some rules, but we'll talk about that later."

"Do you, Mary-Lynnette Carter take Ash Redfern to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do."

"And do you, Ash Redfern take Mary-Lynnette Carter to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do."

"Then, by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride."

After their long discussion about Soulmate Withdrawal, both Ash and Mare realized that they would have to do something so it would never happen again. So, although they were supposed to be at Hogwarts, they had taken a very long detour to Las Vegas, and one of the wedding chapels on the Strip, so that they would, at least, be joined together in the bonds of holy matrimony even if only the two of them knew it.

The only reason Mare herself had agreed was that Ash had told her that it was only temporary, and that when the opportunity presented itself, they would have the big ceremony with family and friends present.

But now, kissing Ash, it occurred to Mare that she didn't care where they were married. As long as they were together, that was all that mattered.

Eventually though, they pulled themselves apart, and left the chapel, mounting their brooms, and heading into the night sky.

"…So you see Professor Dumbledore, Malfoy likes me now. And Mare has been through an awful lot for the sake of this mission. Would it upset everything if I took over for her?"

Professor Dumbledore looked at Hermione thoughtfully, contemplating what she was telling him. She was right about one thing: Miss Carter _had _been through a lot for the Order and the mission. She did deserve a break.

He nodded. "Yes Miss Granger. You may take over the mission for Miss Carter."

After her and Malfoy's conversation, Hermione had come right down to Dumbledore's office to tell him what they had talked about. Now, as she left, she couldn't help but think about the look on Harry and Ron's faces when she told them about her job for the Order.

Mental Twitch- I'm glad I was able to make something familiar. Thanks for all the encouragement!

sexyirishBeep- Thanks! Hope you like this chapter!

Sorry for the disappointment with Mare, but I hope you like this chapter!

Thanks to Ghost and chocolatechik also!


	20. Give Me the News

Still only my plot

Mare breathed a sigh of relief as she saw the top of the Hogwarts from the mount on her broom. Brooms were still not her favorite mode of travel, and as she touched the ground, she almost fell off because of her eagerness not to be on a broom anymore.

Seconds later, Ash joined her. He took her hand, and as they walked into the Great Hall, he kept muttering to her about Hermione.

"Ash, what is the matter with you? What's wrong with Hermione? I know that it's probably something that will make me angry, so just tell me now and get it over with." Mare told him, exasperated by the fact that he was trying to hide something from her.

They were right outside the portrait of the Fat Lady when he finally released her hand.

"When you get inside, you might notice something different about Hermione. She was the victim of my Soulmate Withdrawal. When I first found out about you and Draco, I became incredibly depressed. I drank eight bottles of beer every night, and I stopped myself from feeding. Finally, one night when Hermione and I had a date, she was wearing a strapless dress and I lost control.

"I was out of my mind with bloodlust. It's a pain that you can't imagine. Every single vain in your body is on fire. Actually, it happened more then once. Then, the Soulmate withdrawal part came in. I apparently exchanged blood with her, and it happened more then once. Three times in fact."

Then, he stopped speaking. He had a hopeless, end-of-the-world look in his eyes, like he was condemning himself by speaking the truth.

Finally, he got the strength to look into Mare's eyes, and what he saw made him feel a tiny bit better. He saw no anger, just shock.

"Are you saying that Hermione's a vampire now? I don't believe you. You couldn't do that."

Sighing despairingly, Ash just shook his head. "Go in there and see for yourself. Good night Mary-Lynnette, I'll see you in the morning."

Mare turned back to tell him goodnight too, but he was gone before she could gather breath to make words. She told the Fat Lady the password ("heffalumps"), and was allowed entrance into the Gryffindor common room where she immediately spotted Ron and Harry seated around a table, deeply absorbed in a game of Wizard's Chess.

Mare watched as Ron's queen dragged away one of Harry's bishops. When all the mess was cleared away, she finally found it in herself to speak.

"Guys, where's Hermione? I need to talk to her."

Harry looked up from the board, and grinned at the sight of her.

"Marie! Long time no-see. I would ask you how things were going with Malfoy, but apparently Hermione has gone and replaced you in his affections. In fact, they were at the Three Broomsticks having a Butterbeer just yesterday."

Mare started. This was news to her.

"What do you mean 'Hermione has replaced me in Malfoy's affections?' what about the mission? How is it supposed to be completed if Malfoy doesn't like me anymore?"

Ron looked up at her, startled. "Are you jealous? I'm surprised. I thought you'd be relieved because now there's nothing to interfere with you and Ash's relationship. And as for the mission, Hermione has taken over for you. She convinced Dumbledore that you'd been through enough for mission's sake, and that since Draco liked her, she could just take over."

"First of all Ron, it's Mare again. And are you telling me that I married my boyfriend in a Las Vegas wedding chapel for no reason at all! Good Lord, and what are Malfoy's parents going to do when they find out that he doesn't like me anymore? They think I'm the be-all and end-all of the universe! We're supposed to be married in two months!"

As Mare looked at Ron, his eyes widened.

"You married Ash, and you and Malfoy are supposed to be married in two months? That is a problem."

Just then, Hermione entered the common room grinning from ear to ear. Seeing Mare standing by Ron and Harry, she walked over and grabbed her by the arm, dragging her to a more private corner.

Mare gazed intently at her friend. "What's this I hear about you taking over the mission?"

Hermione sighed. "I'm sorry Mare. I just thought that you would want a break after all the Soulmate Withdrawal trouble. And besides, Malfoy seems to think he likes me now. Oh, and about you guys' wedding: he says it's still on so his parents don't suspect anything."

Great, Mare thought. First, I kill my best friend, now I get to be a bigamist. Is there any normalcy allowed in my life anymore?

She looked at Hermione. "How can you feel sorry for all _I_ went through when what you went through was way worse? Ash told me he accidentally made you a vampire. I'm so sorry you had to get wrapped up in all my problems."

Hermione just grinned devilishly at her. "Are you kidding? This is one of the best things that has ever happened to me! I'm pretty now! No one thinks of me just as the Gryffindor Brain who spends all her time in the library. Now, people talk to me, and Pansy Parkinson hates my guts because I'm getting all the guys _she _wants!"

Mare snorted. "That doesn't surprise me. Pansy has major issues, so there you go. Has it ever occurred to you though that people only talk to you because you're pretty?"

Hermione shrugged. "Yes, it's crossed my mind a few times. I'm sorry about seeming so vain, but it feels so good to finally_be_ somebody.Have you ever felt like that?."

Mare nodded. "Yeah. When I went back to my old school in Oregon, all the really hot guys were hitting on me because of the attitude and self-confidence I gained over the summer. It was a weird feeling."

Then, Mare looked at her watch. "We should probably be getting to bed. It's getting late."

Before going to bed, Hermione had one last message for Mare. "Oh, Mare I almost forgot to tell you that Dumbledore wants to see you in his office about any prophetic Voldemort dreams."

The next day was a nice one and Mare woke up feeling very happy. Classes seemed wonderful, and Mare realized how much she had missed this school.

After lunch, she ran into Malfoy, who took her into an empty classroom so that the two of them could "talk."

"Marie," he started, "You probably know what I have to tell you, but I'm going to tell you anyway. I like Hermione better now, and I don't think that it would be wise for us to keep seeing each other since I think we both know it's pointless."

Mare looked at him. "Have you told your parents about this?"

Malfoy's eyes widened, and his mouth twitched convulsively.

"God, no! Trust me, that would be a really, really bad idea. So, despite the fact that it would make us both miserable for the rest of our lives, I think we should have the wedding anyway."

"Draco, you don't understand. I can't marry you, I have to marry Ash!"

He nodded. "The arranged marriage? Well, we could always get divorced, I guess."

Just then, the bell rang, signaling the beginning of afternoon classes, and she and Draco when their separate ways.

In the middle of Potions, a message came said Mare was to go to the headmaster's office immediately.

She left quickly, and made good time. Professor Dumbledore was sitting at his desk looking thoughtful. At the sight of her, he grinned.

"So, Miss Carter, had any dreams recently?

Mare nodded. "I think so. I always have this one involving bright green light, a rat, a snake, and a bloody wedding dress. What do you think it means, Professor?"

Dumbledore gazed at her intently. "I think, Miss Carter, your dreams are saying that the Final Battle will happen at you and Mr. Malfoy's wedding."

I would like to thank everyone who reviewed last chapter. You guys are the best!


	21. A Vision Finally Told

Even after all this time still only my plot.

Mare walked silently through the halls of Hogwarts. It was midnight, and she was sure that she was the only one besides Filch, the evil caretaker, who was still awake. If she wasn't careful, he and his evil cat might catch her.

It was getting harder and harder to sleep at night, and that wasn't just because her wedding to Draco was less then a month away. The dreams were still coming strong every night, she missed Ash, and she just wanted to be out of Hogwarts and out of England. Forever. Finally, she reached the Gryffindor common room. It was difficult to pick things out in the dark, and she tripped over a chair, which promptly fell to the ground with a loud crash.

Then, someone whispered _Lumos!_ And the sudden light in the room revealed Ron, Harry, and Hermione all grinning devilishly at her.

"So, Mare," Ron said smoothly, "where have you been? Midnight rendezvous with your _fiancé_?"

Mare blushed and Hermione cuffed Ron in the head, giving him a very stern look.

"Don't tease her about that, Ron. It's not like it's her fault that she's engaged to be married to that-"

"If you say 'hottie', I'm going to hurt you," Ron interrupted.

Hermione glared at him.

"I wasn't going to say hottie. Not that what I do in my free time is any of your business, Ron."

This time, it was Mare's turn to grin.

"Have _you_ had any midnight rendezvous with my fiancé, Hermione?"

Even in the bad light, Mare could tell Hermione was blushing.

"Well, we've had a few. But I mean come on, isn't he a good kisser?"

"You got that right." Mare agreed.

"But he's not as good as Ash though," Hermione amended. "God, Mare, you're so lucky. You get to spend the rest of you're life with him."

"Amen to that. But I have to get through my wedding to Malfoy first."

Hermione sighed. "Some girls have all the luck."

Behind Hermione, both Harry and Ron cleared their throats.

"Excuse me," Harry interjected, "but could we move on to a more 'guy-friendly' topic? Please?"

Mare and Hermione looked at each other.

"Fine," Hermione relented. "But we really should be getting to bed. It's almost morning, and we don't want anyone to know that we've been up."

They talked for a little while longer, and then parted ways. Mare crawled into bed feeling drained, but knowing that what was waiting for her in her dreams would make her more so, she delayed falling asleep as much as possible.

The Final Battle was going to happen at her and Malfoy's wedding. Very convenient for Lord Voldemort she supposed, since it would not only be crawling with the Death-Eater friends and father of the groom, but also Harry Potter as a friend of the bride.

The Dark Lord would have to be a fool to pass up such a good opportunity. But she knew after hearing enough from Ron, Harry, and Hermione about him that a fool was the last thing the Dark Lord was.

What was waiting for her in her dreams that night was more vivid and real then anything she had ever seen before. Instead of the bloody dress just lying on a chair, she was wearing it as it became soaked, and the blood that covered the dress was her own. She felt her strength draining away, and pulled herself over to a chair. All around her, fire and flames raged, engulfing her dress in flames, and burning her skin.

But miraculously, just before death, she found herself being soaked with water, felt a hand reaching out to her to save her from the terrible destruction around her as well as an inevitable death.

The hand yanked her up and carried her towards a broken window and her rescuer lifted her up while skillfully jumping out and away from the flaming church. She wanted to go back and see what had happened to the others, but her rescuer stopped her.

"There's nothing you can do now."

His words sank in, and she screamed in grief. He grabbed her hand to comfort her, and then everything went black.

* * *

When Mare woke up from the dream, she was still screaming until she noticed her three friends standing around her bed staring at her. 

"Mare, are you all right?" Harry asked her. "Ron and I could hear you screaming all the way from the boys' dormitories. We ran in here and Hermione told us to come over. She said that you had been screaming all night. Bad dreams?"

Mare sat up and immediately launched into a big coughing fit. Hermione tapped her lightly on the back, but stepped away almost immediately as soon as she smelled Mare's clothes.

"Mare, why do you smell like smoke?"

Mare sniffed her hair a few minutes after she stopped coughing.

"I don't know, Hermione. I had a dream where I was being engulfed in flames. Maybe that has something to do with it."

Hermione nodded slightly. "It's possible."

Eventually, it was determined that Mare was fine, and Ron and Harry went back to the boys' dorms to get dressed for the day while Mare and Hermione did likewise. As Mare was putting on her robes, she felt a pain at the back of her legs. She put her robe down, and went to sit on her bed and see what was wrong. When she finally got a good look at the back of her legs, what she saw made her scream in shock.

"Hermione! Hermione, come quick! I need to get to the hospital wing right now!"

Hermione came running.

"Mare, what's the matter?"

Mare, still incredibly freaked out, shrieked "Look at the back of my legs! They're really burned!"

Hermione saw. but that wasn't all.

"And there's dried blood everywhere! What happened?"

Still breathing heavily, Mare said, "Hermione, get Ron and Harry in here right now."

* * *

"… And so you see, the final battle is going to happen at Malfoy's and my wedding. Dumbledore told me about it weeks ago." 

"Yes, that makes perfect sense." Harry breathed. "Everyone Voldemort needs will be at the wedding. Me, the Death-eaters. What would be a better time?"

"How about never?" Ron muttered under his breath.

After Mare shared her dreams with her friends, her days went smoother, and no visions interrupted her sleep. But that didn't mean that she wasn't on the edge. The day before her and Malfoy's wedding, she was on edge, suffering more then just the usual pre-wedding jitters. And it didn't help then Malfoy had stopped by her and Hermione's table with a bunch of flowers for Hermione saying, "Remember, no matter what you hear tomorrow, I still love you more then anything." Mare wished Ash would come and see her, but she hadn't seen him since he had told her about Hermione, and Mare doubted he was coming to the wedding.

The day went by too quickly for Mare, and before she knew it, her three friends were telling her goodnight and good luck.

"Good luck to you too, Harry." She whispered. "The Final Battle is waged tomorrow."

**Piscean Wisdom- Do you mean where will she go after her and Malfoy's wedding? That's a surprise. The wedding is next chapter, which is coincidentally the last chapter. Thanks for reviewing and I hope you like this chapter too!**

**vampy- I hope you like the update, and that you haven't gone crazy.**

**sexyirishBeep- I'm glad I left you with a surprise. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter!**

**Mental Twitch- I don't know what I was thinking. I did some adjusting for a more 'in character' conversation. Thanks for reviewing, and I hope you like this chapter!**

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	22. Destinies Fulfilled

Only plot is mine!

When Mare woke up the next morning, the first thing she did was look out the window over her bed. Outside, the sky was gray and it was drizzling and hailing slightly. She sighed. Great, she thought, it's my wedding day and it's raining. What a wonderful combination. She put a robe on over her pajamas so she could go out to the common room and hopefully see a smiling face. The girls' dormitory was deserted, so she left alone and sat in the big chair in front of the fireplace to ponder her life, which was slowly crumbling before her eyes. In the middle of her musings, however, she heard a step on the stairs coming from the boys' dormitories. She looked up and saw Ash on the top step just looking at her in a way that he'd never looked at her before; a mix of pain, longing, and regret, and it made her want to hold him.

Once he saw that she was looking, he descended the staircase and walked over and sat in a chair opposite her. At first, all he did was stare into the unlit grate of the fireplace, but eventually, he made himself turn around to face her. Then, he spoke.

"I just wanted to tell you good luck today, you know, before everything happens and you become a claimed woman and everything." It came out fast and he turned away from her before giving her a chance to reply.

She looked at his back, then stood up, walked over to him, and took his hand. "Ash, look at me." She waited to continue speaking until he finally did look at her. "You know how I feel about the whole ownership of women by men thing, but I just want you to know that even before this crazy mission and engagement, I was a claimed woman. I was engaged by fate. To _you,_ all right? You were the first sane guy to really see me. I know that I can go up to you and say 'will you come outside and stargaze with me,' and you won't look at me like I have some sort of problem and suggest we go to mouse races or football games instead. I admit that sometimes you drive me crazy, but that's to be expected. We have more in common then we seem to realize, and I _love_ you.Don't go around thinking that a bogus engagement and marriage will change that. In fact, it might be in shambles from the beginning. Are you coming, by the way?"

He shook his head. "No, I don't think I will."

She grinned at him. "You might want to. Hermione's going to be there, and something really interesting that would require you to save my butt might happen." She winked, and left him alone in the common room feeling stunned.

* * *

When she got down to breakfast, she found Harry, Ron, and Hermione already at the table. Hermione was clutching a large bouquet of pink and white roses. Mare barely glanced at them as she sat down and shoveled some eggs on to her plate.

"So, Hermione," she said, indicating the roses, "are those from Draco? Did he get them for you?"

Hermione put them down on the table and shoved them toward her. "No, they're for you. They're from Draco's parents."

"Really? How sweet." Mare picked up the roses and made a catch for the thin slip of white paper that was serving as the card. She missed however, and Harry, with his Quidditch reflexes, caught it instead, then opened it up and read it out loud for the four of them to hear.

_Dearest Marie,_

_We wanted to welcome you into the family and give you best wishes with your marriage to Draco. He could not have picked a better witch to marry. The whole family is coming to the wedding, and we can't wait to meet your parents and see you at Malfoy Manor after the honeymoon._

_Love and best wishes, _

_Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy (Mum and Dad)_

After Harry finished reading, he had to stuff toast in his mouth to keep from laughing. Ron was not so successful. He snorted, inhaling orange juice up his nose and spraying it so Hermione's schoolbook pages were soaked.

"Ron, Harry, for God's sake grow up!" Hermione remonstrated, drying her book pages with her wand, then stowing it in her book bag. Then, she looked over at Mare and saw the look on her face.

"Mare, what's the matter?" she asked.

Mary-Lynnette was staring at the card as if it had sprouted a mouth and started talking to her. "They want to meet my parents. How can they do that? And what will they think when they find out I'm not a real witch after all?"

Harry laughed before Hermione could speak. "If this is a bogus marriage, why do you care so much? Besides, Lucius and Narcissa could be dead by the end of the day."

Mare looked at him and nodded. "I hope you're right. And I hope I can last that long."

* * *

The white dress was incredibly tight, and Mary-Lynnette couldn't breathe. But she had seen herself in the mirror once, and she looked _good._ Besides that, Hermione had just come into her dressing room and told her that Ash had shown up.

She managed to breathe a tiny sigh of relief. Good, she thought, that means I get to live. She walked over to the door and opened it, watching the people milling about before the wedding began. She could see Draco's parents, as well as some of his other relatives that she hadn't met yet. Just as she was about to duck back into the room, Narcissa spotted her looking out and bounded over to her, grabbing her hand and yanking her out of the dressing room, bringing her face to face with the unknown relatives.

"See Bella, this is the girl Draco's going to be marrying in a few minutes," Narcissa gushed. "Didn't I tell you she was gorgeous?" Since Narcissa wasn't speaking to her, Mary-Lynnette looked around some more, and was surprised to see Blaise Zambini, a Slytherin housemate of Draco's who was known for being very particular about the girls he dated, leering at her. Pansy Parkinson was beside him scowling at her out of red-rimmed eyes.

"Marie," all of a sudden, Mare was snapped out of her shocked reverie by Narcissa's voice. "Marie, this is my sister Bellatrix and her husband Rudolphus." Mare managed to smile and shake both their hands. After that, Narcissa let her go, and she went back to her dressing room to continue her people-watching. Draco came out of his own room a few minutes later looking almost too handsome in a set of dark-green dress robes. Blaise hit him on the shoulder whispered something to him that caused Draco to grin as they both turned their eyes toward her hiding place.

Finally, Harry came to knock on her door. "Mare, it's time," he said so only she could hear. She got up from the chaise and walked to the door, opening it to reveal Harry holding out his arm so he could escort her and give her away.

She took it calmly, and they walked to the doors leading into the church sanctuary. Then, they waited. Finally, it was time for her to show her face, and when she and Harry entered, the room filled with gasps of awe. Draco looked stunned, and when she looked at the rows to the side, Ash's mouth was almost to the floor.

Then, she got to the front of the room and she and Harry parted. After that, the priest said the wedding vows, and all was well until he got to the part about 'speak now, or forever hold your peace.' He never finished that line. Halfway through, the far wall of the church suddenly was blasted to pieces. Then, a tall red-eyed man stepped through the wreckage. Mare expected people to scream, but since most of the people were death-eaters, no one did. They merely stood up and pulled out their wands. Harry had his out as well, and the other members of the Order were quickly following suit. Mare could do nothing but stand there and try to stay alive. The fighting began and the fire raged. At one point, Mare was hit by a spell, nothing too bad. She tried to run, but the smoke made it difficult to see. Then, she tripped over a small piece of rubble and fell to the ground. It was getting harder and harder to breathe, and she could feel something wet and sticky running down the front of her. She felt the exposed area of skin above her neckline and gasped. She was bleeding, and badly. And she had to breathe some good air soon. Barely a minute later, strong hands grabbed her around the waist and pulled her up, dragging her out the ruined wall and into the dark night. The last thing she remembered before she passed out was herself trying to get back and help Harry, and Ash, her rescuer, saying "there's nothing you can do for them now."

* * *

The next time she awoke, she was on her living room couch in Briar Creek with the girls, Mark, Ash and Ash's parents standing over her.

"Are you all right, Mary-Lynnette?" Rowan asked, looking worried and gently taking her hand.

She nodded. "Fine, I think. It will be awhile before I go to Europe again, though."

Everyone laughed. Then, the phone rang. Ash got up to answer it.

"How long have I been unconscious?" she asked Jade.

"About three weeks," Jade answered. "We were beginning to wonder if you'd ever wake up."

Then, Ash came back to the living room, grinning. He held out the phone to Mare. "It's for you," he told her. "It's Hermione."

Mare quickly grabbed the phone away from him.

"Hello?"

"Mare, is that you? Are you all right?"

"Yes, Hermione, I'm fine. What happened?"

"Well, I have some good news and some bad news."

Mare's heart sank.

"What's the good news?"

"We won! The Order managed to finish Voldemort off!"

"And what's the bad news?"

"Your in-laws are dead. But, if they weren't, they'd be _my_ in-laws now. Draco proposed to me!"

Mary-Lynnette smiled. "Good for you, Hermione. I hope you and Draco will be really happy."

"We will. But I wouldn't mind doing a boyfriend swap once I convert Draco to a hunter and Ash changes you."

Mary-Lynnette smiled to herself. "In your dreams, Hermione."

Then, she put the phone down to look at Ash who had been motioning to her.

"Hermione, would you hold for a moment?" Then, she got up and took the phone with her as she and Ash went out on the porch to talk. By the time she came back, she had a question to ask Hermione.

"Hermione, would you mind having you and Draco's first outing as an engaged couple be to Ash's and my wedding?"

She heard Hermione gasp. "But I thought you guys were already married!"

"Hermione, I would hardly call a five-minute ceremony at a drive-through chapel a wedding."

"Well, Mare, in that case, we'll be there!" then, they said goodbye, and Mare went outside and she and Ash looked at the stars and each other until the sun came up.

The End


End file.
